


Second Hand Hearts

by Keb_0712



Series: Second Hand Hearts [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Past Abuse, Season/Series 02 Spoilers, Season/Series 03 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-03-20 21:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 269,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3665295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keb_0712/pseuds/Keb_0712
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I got a secondhand heart. Yeah, it’s a little banged up, but it’s still beating strong enough to give a lot of good love. So if you don’t mind that it’s not brand new, I’ll take this secondhand heart and give it to you."<br/>~Danny Gokey</p><p>In her darkest hour, a woman who has lost everything is rescued by a handsome man with a crossbow and nothing to lose-until he meets her. In a nightmarish new world, where the dead prey on the living, can they beat the odds and together make life worth living again?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first multi-chapter fic so feedback is most welcome! I do not own The Walking Dead or it's characters. The title came from Danny Gokey's song, "Second Hand Heart".

Madison woke with a jerk; a combination of sunlight and nightmares pulling her from a restless sleep. She scrambled to her feet, angry with herself for falling asleep on guard duty. Again. Her head started to spin from standing too quickly and she braced herself against a tree; sinking back to a sitting position she willed the world around her to stop moving. The spinning slowed down and eventually came to a stop and she chanced standing up again. Leaning against the tree for support, she took a moment to remember how mornings used to be; snooze buttons, warm blankets, and coffee. ‘Oh, coffee! I think I miss you most of all.’

Returning to the task at hand, she scanned the small clearing of their “camp”, trying to look as if she had been on the look out all night and not asleep in a ball by the base of the tree she now leaned on. ‘I couldn’t have been out that long, right? Just a few minutes-I’m sure of it.’ All Madison knew for sure was that she had dodged a bullet. She would never have heard the end of it if her sister, Ally, had caught her nodding off. ‘Where is Ally, anyway?’

Uneasiness radiated from somewhere deep within as Madison looked around for her baby sister. Even with a mere five years between them, Ally had always been Madison’s baby sister and no amount of protesting on Ally’s part would change that. ‘She must be off in search of a semi-discrete plant to pee on,’ Madison tried to reassure herself. She held her breath and listened for any telltale noises suggesting which direction Ally had wandered off in. ‘It’s quiet,’ she thought, ‘Too quiet.’ Madison took a few steps forward, her hand instinctively checking for her knife at her hip. “Ally!” she called as loud as she dared, “Where are you?”

Silence.

She focused on the ground, looking for tracks to give her a hint as to which direction to begin her search deciding that made more sense that running blindly into the forest. They’d never find each other that way.

She heaved a sigh of relief when she found a set of tracks and she set off to follow them into the forest knowing it was only a matter of minutes until she and her baby sister were reunited and they could make their way back to the main road.

“Ally? Ally! Come on, this isn’t funny anymore. Ally!”

The silence was deafening, but she kept pushing on; the uneasiness she felt earlier morphing into full blown panic.

And then her world shattered. The faint trail left by her sister in the dew moistened dirt was interrupted by clear signs of a struggle. And blood. So much blood. Madison shoved her fist to her mouth and clamped down hard to keep from screaming. ‘One of those things got Ally. A walker got my baby sister!’ In the past few weeks she had heard many terms used to describe these flesh eating monsters roaming around; biters, geeks, lame-brains. Folks in this area called them walkers and she favored that above the other descriptions she’d heard, but none of that mattered now. No matter what they were called, one of them had attacked her little sister. Terror got the better of her and Madison shrieked, “Alice Montgomery Wyatt! Where are you?”

She heard leaves rustle behind her and in one fluid motion she whipped around and yanked her knife from its sheath, ready to take down the monster that took her sister. She zeroed in on where the noise came from and lowered her knife with an incredulous laugh, ‘Stupid squirrel.’ She rubbed her eyes with her empty hand and shook her head, forcing herself to take a few seconds and breathe. ‘You don’t know if that’s Ally’s blood, she probably took out the walker that tried to get her and that’s walker blood you see. She’s still out there. She’s okay.’

Unsure of what else to do, Madison decided to continue her search in the same direction she’d been going. She turned back around only to find herself face to face with a walker. Her blood ran cold as she stared into its face; a face she’d know anywhere, “Oh Ally.” She whispered, her heart ripping from her chest. ‘No.’

Madison forced herself to swallow her grief for the time being and to see the thing in front of her, not as her baby sister, but as the monster it was. Her momentary loss of focus cost her and she was caught off guard when the walker reached out for her; instead of putting her knife in its skull, she backed away, tripping over an exposed tree root. She fell backwards, hitting her back on a rock. She heard a pop and howled in pain. Ally was getting closer now, ‘No, not Ally,’ she reminded herself. She forced herself to a kneeling position, wincing with the movement. ‘Thank God I’m not paralyzed,’ she thought, ignoring the high probability of broken ribs. Madison went for her sheath to find it empty and it dawned on her that she must have dropped her knife when she fell. There was no time to look for it; the walker was mere inches away at this point. She scoured the ground for a rock or a stick-anything nearby she could use as a weapon. Something bright caught her eye. ‘My knife!’ She lunged for it, sprawled out on her stomach she could just reach it. Her head was violently jerked backwards as the walker grabbed hold of her ponytail and pulled. Again Madison cried out in pain as she was pulled to her feet by her hair. With the walker behind her she couldn’t maneuver herself into a position that allowed her to use her knife. She tried elbowing the thing in the face, but it wouldn’t let go of her hair, all that did was keep the teeth at bay, for now. She knew noise would attract other walkers, but she couldn’t help yelling from exertion and pain as she tried to fight the walker off. She was getting tired and the pain in her back was getting to be too much for her. ‘So, this is how it ends?’


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Chapter 2 is finally up! Thanks to those of you who have been reading my story, I hope to post more often in the future. I still don't own any part of TWD or its characters. As usual, feedback is greatly appreciated!

Daryl was restless again. He used to love the night, but his opinion changed since the dead started walking; now he hated it. There was always something that needed doing, but nightfall brought all that to a screeching halt. Sitting on the hood of an abandoned car near the RV he had a decent view of the edge of the forest. He anxiously shifted positions, staring into the distance looking for movement, any movement. Hoping for Sophia, but expecting a walker.

He glanced to the roof of the RV to see who was on watch. Dale. He grunted. Could be worse. Daryl decided to risk closing his eyes for a few minutes and maybe pure exhaustion would win out and he could finally get some sleep. He hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since this all started, but sleep had become a distant memory since Merle went missing in Atlanta. Sure, Merle was a complete tool, but blood was blood and he was the only family Daryl had left. Every time he closed his eyes to try and sleep he was bombarded with images of Merle alone on that rooftop surrounded by walkers, he could see Merle’s severed hand in a pool of blood, he could hear is big brother cry out in agony as he sawed off his own hand.

Two new faces haunted him tonight; Sophia and Carl. ‘'Course it weren't bad 'nough fer the girl t'run off an’ go missin’, Rick’s kid hadta go an' get 'imself shot.’ He was concerned for Carl, but he was scared for Sophia, not that he’d ever admit that to anyone. Daryl knew firsthand what she was going through and how she was feeling. He’d been in her shoes; a child fighting to survive alone in the woods, of course that was before the walkers were calling the shots. A vision of Sophia as one of these monsters startled him awake. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back against the windshield again, pressing his fist against his forehead as if doing so could clear the image from his mind. ‘Can’t let that happen t'that lil' girl,’ he thought and with that he jumped off the car and started gathering the essentials for one more quick search for Sophia before they left the freeway and joined the group at the farm where Carl had been taken to be treated.

The red glow of early morning was beginning to brighten the sky. He leaned against the car and loaded his crossbow while he impatiently waited for the sun to get a little higher. With a frustrated huff he pushed himself away from the car, threw his bow on his back and started towards the woods. It was still a little darker than was ideal when tracking, but Daryl figured the sun would be bright enough by the time he reached where he and Andrea abandoned their search the night before.

“Psst! Daryl! Where do you think you’re going?” Dale’s less than stealthy “whisper” brought Daryl to a stop.

Exasperated, he turned and made his way back to the RV figuring there was no sense in attracting every walker in a five mile radius having a yelling match with Dale. “Whaddya want, ol' man?” he gruffly asked Dale when he reached the RV again.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Dale repeated, letting the old man comment go, “You can’t go out there in the dark alone.”

“It mighta escaped yer notice, but it ain’t exactly dark anymore. An' I do better on my own,” with that Daryl turned and walked towards the forest again.

“It won’t help Sophia if you get yourself killed trying to be some sort of hero.”

“Won’t get myself killed then,” Daryl threw the words over his shoulder at Dale and continued moving forward.

Once in the forest he was momentarily grateful for Dale’s little delay. The couple of minutes wasted talking to the older man had allowed the sun to rise more and brighten the forest considerably.

Daryl hadn’t been walking very long when he heard a female voice rip through the quiet of the forest. Instinctively he stopped, took aim with his crossbow in the direction of the voice, and lowered himself into an attack stance. ‘What was that? Wasn’t a scream, words? A name? Can’t be Sophia, right?’ He stayed perfectly still and held his breath, straining to hear anything else. He was about to give up and move on when an agonized yell echoed through the trees. This time he didn’t waste time trying to analyze who the cry had come from, he took off running as fast as he could towards the source of the cry.

He heard another scream as he got closer. Pushing himself to run even faster as the pain and fear fueled cries were getting closer and more frequent he called out, “Sophia? Sophia! I’m comin’!” After what felt like hours he finally reached where the screams were coming from. His heart sank as the reality that he hadn’t found Sophia settled in and he watched a young woman trying to fight off a walker who had a hold of her bright red hair. Cursing to himself he smacked the tree in front of him in frustration and he turned to go, tuning out the woman’s anguished sobs. ‘Can’t lose focus, gotta find Sophia. Every walker in the area is headin’ this way with all that racket she’s makin’. What do I owe this woman, this stranger? Nothin’.’ No matter what his head was saying, Daryl just couldn’t bring himself to leave this poor woman to die alone. “What’s yer problem, Dixon? When did ya become such a pushover?” he muttered to himself as he took aim at the walker’s head and let his arrow fly.

*****

Madison was beyond exhausted and the pain in her back was excruciating. She knew she couldn’t fight much more and was resigned to dying at the hands of her little sister, closing her eyes she bowed to the inevitable and stopped struggling. Ally’s growls went silent and her body went limp and fell against Madison’s back. She opened her eyes and saw the point of an arrow sticking out of her sister’s head. It took her a second to realize that she wasn’t in immediate danger anymore and that this walker leaning on her was the corpse of her baby sister. Desperately, she tried to get Ally’s body off of her, but her hands were still tangled in her hair. With no other thought other than the need to get away from her sister’s dead body, Madison grabbed her hair and with her knife chopped off her ponytail above her hair-tie. She replaced her knife it its sheath, let go of her hair and Ally fell to the ground with a thud.

The despair Madison had shoved aside while she fought for her life hit her like a freight train. Now aware of the need to be quiet she clasped her hands over her mouth and sobbed over her sister’s body. She was so consumed by her grief that she didn’t notice Daryl approach her, crossbow still at the ready.

“Ya bit?” he questioned. She still was oblivious to his presence, “I said ya bit?” Madison still didn’t respond. Daryl had run out of patience at this point and he shouted at her, “Hey!” Her head whipped up. ‘Heh, that got 'er attention,’ he thought as she jumped to her feet. Instantly regretting the sudden movement, she gasped in pain as she tried to stand straight and fell back against a tree, closing her eyes and riding out the wave of pain.

She opened her eyes when Daryl spoke to her again, his voice closer than before, “Now I ain’t askin’ ya again. Did ya get bit?”

She shook her head and answered in a feeble voice, “No."

“Ya sure? Ya got a awful lotta blood on ya.”

“I fell so some of it’s mine, but most of it's hers,” Madison stated as she gestured to Ally.

Daryl’s eyes narrowed at her as he assessed the situation further; eventually he lowered his crossbow and nodded slightly, “Fair ‘nough.” He reached down and yanked his arrow out of Ally’s skull and wiped the blood off on a rag hanging out of his back pocket. Madison cringed as Daryl removed the arrow and tears began to sting her eyes again. “Y'aint seen a lil' girl out ‘ere, have ya?”

His question caught her off guard, “A what?”

Daryl sighed, ‘This woman is a special kinda slow.’ “Ya seen a lil' girl hidin' out 'ere? Blonde hair, ‘bout yay tall, 12 years old. Skinny, timid lil' thing, answers t'Sophia.”

“No, I haven’t. Sorry,” Madison answered.

“Not yer fault,” Daryl mumbled as he situated his crossbow across his back yet again, lost in thought trying to decide his next move in searching for Sophia. Movement over his shoulder caught Madison’s attention. Her eyes widened as another walker wandered towards them and was getting dangerously close.

“Behind you!” Madison said, barely getting Daryl’s attention. She groaned and gathered what was left of her strength, “Move!” Before he had time to react she lunged forward, knife in hand, pushed Daryl out of the way, and drove her knife into the walker’s eye socket. With a twist she pulled her knife out and drove the blade in again for good measure. The walker fell and Madison lost her balance as she was once again overcome with pain. ‘There’s no way something’s not broken,’ she decided as her legs gave out from under her. Daryl caught her before she hit the ground.

“Where’re ya hurt?” he asked.

“My back. When I fell I hit a rock...I think something’s broken.”

“May I?” Daryl asked, tugging at the hem of her shirt. Madison nodded and he lifted the back of her shirt just high enough to see the angry bruise forming on her back. Replacing her shirt he said, “There’s a farm not far away, m'group's headin’ there. There’s some sorta doctor there, ya need t'get that looked at. Looks bad. Yer comin’ back with me. Ya gotta group or somethin’?”

Madison shook her head. “No, she was the last of the group,” nodding her head in Ally’s direction.

“Right. Can ya walk?” Madison nodded, “'lright, up ya get.”

Once Daryl helped her to her feet, he draped her arm around his neck and put his arm around her waist, careful not to bump the injured area. Slowly they set out towards the main road, walking in awkward silence. “My name's Madison, since you didn’t ask,” she joked, trying to lighten the mood. Daryl grunted in response. “And you are?”

Daryl gave her a sidelong glance and Madison noticed for the first time what a beautiful blue this man’s eyes were. She gave him a small smile and he shook his head, looking forward again. “Daryl.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those who have taken the time to read this. I can't tell you what the support means, it's exciting to have people enjoy my work. As always, I don't own TWD, just Madison.

The pair continued their journey in silence. Madison accepted the fact that her rescuer wasn’t much for small talk and that it was starting to get harder to breathe with every step they took; she didn’t want to admit it to herself because admitting it made it real, but she was scared. Something wasn’t right and her fall did more harm than she originally thought. Once again she found herself longing for modern technology and the ease of typing her symptoms into WebMD. A war was waging inside of her as she tried to calm herself and explain away her difficulty breathing as nothing more than the exertion of trying to keep up with Daryl; her more logical and, as of late, more cynical side countered with worst case scenarios that all ended with her dying a slow and painful death, most liking drowning in her own blood.

“Yer camp anywhere nearby, Allison?” She jumped at the sound of Daryl’s voice and they stopped walking. He took advantage of this brief pause to unwrap her arm from his neck and stretch out his neck and shoulders while he waited for her response.

“First of all, it’s Madison, not Allison,” she stated.

Daryl rolled his eyes at her, “Whatever.”

“No, not whatever; Madison is my name and I don’t have much else beside a name these days so don’t you take that away from me!” Madison shouted, eyes not leaving Daryl’s.

“I ain’t tryin’ ta take nothin’ away from ya; I’m tryin’ to save yer sorry ass, so why dontcha stop yellin’ b'fore ya kill us both by attractin’ more walkers,” Daryl said staring her down, daring her to continue, “What’re ya bustin’ my balls fer, anyhow? We jus' met half hour ago.”

Madison’s gaze fell to the forest floor, ashamed by her outburst. “Daryl, I’m so sorry.” He waved away her apology and grumbled something in acknowledgement, but she continued, determined to explain herself, “You saved my life when you didn’t have to and you deserve my gratitude, not anger. Before the world went to pot, I was engaged to this...awful man,” Daryl groaned, not wanting to hear about her relationship problems, “and he would constantly call me by the wrong name. I don’t know if he thought it was funny or if I really meant that little to him that he couldn’t remember who I was; looking back he was probably sleeping around and calling me by his skank’s names… But that’s neither here nor there; when I’d point it out he’d do just what you did, blow it off like it was no big deal. Ha, no big deal that he couldn’t remember the name of the woman he was about to marry. It tore me down and made me believe that I didn’t matter to him or to anyone else, that I wasn’t important. My world, like everyone else’s, has come crashing down around me. I have nothing left. I have no one, when I die no one will know or care that I existed. All I have is my name, and with that the hope that somehow, when I go, that name won’t be forgotten.” Mortified by her second embarrassing emotional outburst of the morning, Madison quickly wrapped up her monologue, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, “The point I’m trying to make is I was taking years of pain and frustration out on you because now I can’t tell him off. I know it makes no sense and I’m sorry.”

Daryl’s eyes were downcast as he kicked the dirt, clearly uncomfortable with her revealing such a personal part of her past. His tongue was in his cheek as he debated on the appropriate response. Madison was taken by surprise by his response when, head still down, he said, “Growin’ up my brother, Merle, always usta call me ‘Darylina’ in front of the neighborhood kids an' they’d laugh an’ I’d get pissed an’ that only made ‘em laugh harder.” He looked up at her and the quizzical look she was giving him, “So I’m sayin’ I get it.”

“Thank you,” she said with a small smile, she was too dumbfounded that this abrasive redneck chose to open up to her like that to think of anything else to say.

“Ya got a camp ‘round here or not?” Daryl asked, remembering his question from earlier and eager to change the subject.

“Yeah, it’s got to be close by...” Madison said, craning her neck to get her bearings, “There! See that tall tree with the blue bandana in it? Ally thought it would be smart to climb the tree and tie something up there so if we got separated we could find our way back. Looks like her plan worked.”

“I see it, c’mon let’s go.” Daryl said replacing her arm around his neck.

“I can walk. Really, Daryl, I’m fine.”

He ignored her protests and put his arm around her waist again, “You can’t even stand up straight an’ ya think ya can walk? Notta chance.” Realizing there was no point in arguing with him, Madison fell into stride beside him as they worked their way to her camp. “Keep yer eyes open fer that lil’ girl.” Madison nodded, touched by his dedication to this poor, lost child. Daryl broke the silence once again, quickly glancing at her, “Madison?”

A smile spread across her lips as he said her name as a question, making sure he   
got it right, “Yes, Daryl.”

“Y'ain’t gonna be.”

“‘Ain’t gonna be’ what?” she chuckled.

“Y'ain’t gonna be forgotten.” Startled, Madison stopped and looked at him with wide eyes, Daryl gave her another sidelong glance and a smirk in return, “Yeah, it'll be a cold day in hell b'fore I ferget the crazy redhead that ripped me a new one right after I saved ‘er life.” She shook her head and laughed, smacking his shoulder with the hand already resting there. Pleased with himself he led her forward again.

They reached her camp without much difficulty and were greeted a walker wandering around, drawn there, no doubt, by the smell of Madison and Ally’s belongings. Daryl let go of Madison, held up a hand to her letting her know to stand still, and snuck up behind the walker, stabbing it in the base of the skull with his hunting knife before it even knew he was there. “Ain’t much of a camp," he commented as he looked around and threw an irritated look at Madison.

“I never said it was," she curtly rebutted, "It was just me and my sister. We barely got out of the old motel we were holed up in with our lives. We weren’t too concerned with grabbing things at the time.” Daryl was right, there wasn’t much for the pair to grab, just a small two person tent still in its bag, one duffle bag, and one satchel, both filled with a hodgepodge of clothing, supplies, and a small assortment of food.

Madison threw the satchel over her shoulder and hobbled over to pick up the tent. “An’ what d'ya think yer doin’?” Daryl asked in exasperation.

“I’ve told you before, I’m fine. I can walk. You can’t carry all of this and me by yourself; I hate to be the one to break it to you,” Madison winced at the extra weight of the bags as she stood, trying to convince Daryl that should could walk and help carry some of the bags, ignoring the pain in her chest with each breath.

She turned to face him and was met by a piercing, skeptical stare. Shaking his head at her he scoffed, “Ya really think ya can make it t'the highway like that without help? Prove it.” He took several steps away from her, “Prove me wrong. Bring that tent over ‘ere t’me an’ I’ll let ya walk the rest of the way.”

She gave him her best defiant stare. “Fine!” she sneered as she complied with his request, but only closing half the distance between them before she had to put the tent down and catch her breath. She looked up at him as he smugly walked over to her, “Don’t say anything. What now? I think I can handle these two bags if I lean on you again. You can throw your bow over your shoulder and carry the duffle?”

“Nah, I ain’t goin’ nowhere with no weapon in my hand. We can come back fer yer stuff later.”

“When’s later? Who’s to say it will still be here ‘later’? I’ve got food and supplies in these bags that I’m sure could help your group, but only if they reach them.”

“What doncha get? It ain’t safe in these woods without protection!” Daryl’s voice was getting louder the more agitated he became, “Ya saw that herd come through! Don’t look too good fer us if we can’t defend ourselves!”

“Stop yelling!” she hissed, “Weapons or not we’d lose to a herd anyway, just the two of us.”

“Speak fer yerself, gimp,” Daryl’s voice was lower, but now he was pacing like a caged animal.

Frustrated, Madison ran her hands through what was left of her hair, “Okay, hear me out, how does this sound; I lean on you, carrying the satchel and holding the tent, you have the duffle in your hand and your bow on your back, like I said earlier, but,” she added quickly, cutting him off before he could interrupt again, “think of it this way, we’ll have two sets of eyes and ears on the lookout. We’ll spot danger long before it’s an immediate threat. That’s plenty of time for us to drop our stuff and grab our weapons, don’t you think?”

He stopped pacing and faced her, “Us?”

“Of course, us. I may not be as fast, but I’m not going to let you fight these things alone.”

He stared at her through squinted eyes, really studying her and sizing her up, “It ain’t a smart plan, dangerous.”

“I know, but there haven’t been a lot of walkers and no signs of a herd of them and…”

“Let’s give it a try,” Daryl interrupted, hoisting the duffle and handing her the tent bag she’d set down. Madison got in position with her arm around his shoulders and they set off on the last leg of their journey. They both were on edge as they made their way to the highway, eyes never resting as they scanned the forest surrounding them. Madison was scared, she knew they were at risk burdened the way they were and she knew if anything happened to them it would be on her. Pushing those thoughts out of her mind she concentrated on searching for walkers, trying to disregard how much she liked the feeling of Daryl’s strong arm around her.

Daryl was also afraid, though he told himself it was just heightened awareness because he found himself in a potentially dangerous situation. He was a Dixon, and Dixon’s didn't get scared. They were almost to the main road now, the danger was almost past, and Daryl could feel himself relax a little, finding it harder and harder to concentrate on walkers with a beautiful woman holding on to him tightly.

Madison was surprised when they broke through the tree line, she had lost all sense of direction in the forest and had no idea her camp was so close to the highway. “We made it! Where are your people?” she asked, looking around and not seeing another living soul.

“Up ‘round that bend a ways,” He answered, gesturing with his head the direction they were headed.

They rounded the bend and Madison could see two women; a blonde pacing back and forth and a woman with short, dark, almost graying hair staring towards the forest wringing her hands. “He’s back, looks like he’s not alone,” a man’s voice called and she noticed the older man in a fishing hat perched on the roof of an RV.

She wasn’t quite sure why, but suddenly she was nervous about meeting new people and intruding on a group like this. “Daryl,” she whispered, eyeing the rifle the older man was holding, “how does your group handle strangers?”

“They’re pretty good ‘bout takin’ people in,” he answered. He looked at her and saw the worry etched on her face. He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze, “Hey, look at me. Yer gonna be okay, I won’t let nothin’ happen.”

The gray haired woman was running towards them now, repeatedly calling out for Sophia, the blonde woman wasn’t far behind. The gray haired woman stopped running and started softly crying when Madison and Daryl got close enough that she could see it wasn’t Sophia he had with him. “That’s not Sophia,” the blonde said when she reached the other three, stating the obvious, “Who is she?”

Before Daryl could answer the gray haired woman spoke, “No! You were supposed to be   
out there looking for Sophia. You can’t leave my little girl out there alone. You can’t bring in strays while my daughter is still out there.”

Both Daryl and Madison were taken aback by her outburst, Madison felt Daryl tense up as the woman yelled, but he tried to respond calmly, “Carol, I’m sorry, she was alone, hurt, an’ fightin’ off a walker, what should I've done? Left ‘er there? We’ll find yer lil’ girl, I promise."

“Hurt how, Daryl? That’s a lot of blood,” the blonde chimed in then she turned on   
Madison, “You weren’t bitten, were you?”

Madison hadn’t expected this reaction from Daryl’s group and she was getting frightened, she shook her head and whispered, “No,” in reply to the blonde.

“Right, Andrea. I dragged a bit stranger all the way 'ere so she can turn an' kill everyone. ‘Course she ain’t bit.” Daryl felt cornered and lashed out, “I don’t get why y’all’re so upset. Ya tell me t'step up an' do right an’ when I do, everyone loses their minds. I saved ‘er life, what’s wrong   
with that?”

“Because you were supposed to be out there watching out for your own, not sacrificing my Sophia to help a stranger,” Carol countered

“Everyone calm down,” the older man in the fishing hat had finally joined the rest, “I’m sure Daryl did his best looking for Sophia. I would hope none of us could turn away from someone in need. I’m sorry for all this, sweetheart. Why don’t you tell us your name and what happened?”

Madison took an immediate liking to this man, his kind smile putting her at ease, “I’m Madison. I fell asleep on watch and my baby sister wandered off during the night. When I woke up she was gone, I went looking for her and found her, but it was too late, she was one of them and she came at me. I fell backwards and landed on a rock. I tried to get my knife and she grabbed my hair, I couldn’t get free and I couldn’t kill her and that’s when Daryl found me. He shot her and saved me.” Madison looked around at everyone and noticed how their demeanors had changed towards her. Carol was still upset, but she didn’t look quite as angry, Andrea was fighting back tears, the older gentleman looked as though he wanted to give her a hug, and Daryl was looking at her with a look of surprise on his face. He had pieced together that she knew the walker he’d shot because she cried over the body and he knew she’d lost her sister, but he hadn’t put the two together for some reason. His heart broke for her as he pictured having to face Merle if that ever happened to him.

“She saved my life,” Daryl added to Madison’s account for the past couple of hours, “Walker was comin’ up behind me an' she pushed by an' killed it. She ain’t doing good; we gotta get ‘er some help at that farm. Y’all take this,” he gestured with the duffle bag, “an' get her in Dale’s RV.” The contention of a few moments before was forgotten as they took the bags and mumbled apologies and welcomes to Madison.

Daryl helped her into the RV and turned to leave, Madison grabbed his wrist to get him to turn around. “Where are you going?” she asked, not hiding the panic in her voice well.

“I got my brother’s bike an' I sure as hell ain’t leavin’ it b’hind. Yer safe here.”

After he left, Madison looked around the RV. Carol was still crying and staring coldly at her while Andrea was apologizing again. Madison saw Dale looking at her in the rearview mirror, she gave him a grateful smile and he smiled back then turned his attention to the road as they followed Daryl to the farm where the rest of the group was gathered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who is sticking with me and continuing to read this. The support is amazing and inspiring me to continue writing. I don't own TWD, I just own Madison.

The caravan of survivors Madison now found herself with made its way to the farm where the rest of the group was waiting. She was afraid to meet the others after the reception she got on the highway. Time seemed to speed up and slow down all at once as they followed the road and a white farmhouse came into view. They pulled up to the house and a large group was congregating to greet them. Carol rushed out of the RV as soon as it was in park. When Dale realized Madison wasn’t moving, he came back and stood in front of her, “You coming?”

“I just need a minute,” she replied, but Dale’s silence prodded her on, “It’s so stupid, but I’m scared. Meeting you three didn’t exactly go well and now…” she sighed, “I just don’t think I’m ready.”

Dale smiled down at her, “I understand; I don’t know everyone out there either. Who knows what these farmers will be like, but maybe we should think of it like ripping off a band aid,” he extended his hand to her, “Let’s rip this sucker off.” Madison nodded and took his hand and stood with some difficulty and followed Dale out of the RV.

She paused at the door for a moment to gather her nerve and was startled to see Daryl leaning against the RV waiting for her. “Ready fer round two?” he smirked helping her with the final step out of the RV. Before they started walking, he went to put her arm over his shoulders again, but she pulled her hand from his grasp.

She couldn’t be certain, but she thought he looked hurt for a second before his customary scowl took over his face and he started to walk away, “What? My help ain’t good ‘nough fer ya now others're ‘round? Don’t want ‘em to see me with ya?”

Madison caught his arm and he ripped free then turned around giving her a withering glare. Unsure of what she said to set him off she tried to explain herself, “It’s not like that, I-”

“It ain’t like that, huh? Why don’t ya tell me what it is like?”

“Daryl, take a look at your people. You’ve got a little girl missing and a grieving mother, that man in the sheriff’s uniform is super pale and looks like he’s about to pass out, and that big guy over there is limping really badly. They don’t need a girl who can barely even walk on her own thrown into the mix. I can’t make it on my own out there, I need your group to take me in. They can’t see me as a burden.” Daryl didn’t look away, but seemed lost in thought as he determined if her words were true or not. “Please believe me, it’s nothing against you. I owe you my life. I just can’t look weak to these people.”

His face softened slightly and he led her towards the group, “So now ya admit ya   
can’t walk? ‘Bout time.”

“Shut up,” she said as she playfully elbowed him in the side.

“He’ll pull through. Thanks to Hershel and his people,” a very thin woman with long   
brown hair was saying as Daryl and Madison reached the rest of the group.

“And Shane. We would've lost Carl if it weren’t for him,” the sheriff added. Everyone around Madison looked relieved and started hugging each other at the news, she looked at Daryl out of the corner of her eye and saw him heave a sigh of relief and look as if a weight had physically been lifted from his shoulders.

“How’d it happen?” Dale asked the sheriff.

“Huntin’ accident, that’s all, just a stupid accident,” the sheriff replied.

Madison leaned over to Daryl and whispered, “Who’s Carl?”

He nodded in the direction of the sheriff, “Rick an’ Lori’s boy.”

She gasped and put her hand to her mouth as she looked between Rick and the woman who spoke earlier, assuming that was Lori. “That poor family,” she murmured and Daryl nodded in agreement.

“I’m sorry, but who the hell are you?” the man Madison had noticed limping earlier asked as he slowly made his way over to her. No one had noticed she was there before and now she could feel every set of eyes on her.

“Madison,” she said quietly, nervously.

“Speak up, look ‘im in the eye. Don’t let ‘im bully ya,” Daryl whispered to her as the limping man approached.

“I didn’t catch that,” Rick said, joining them.

Madison’s throat went dry, but she followed Daryl’s advice and she stood as tall as she could and looked Rick in the eye, “My name is Madison Wyatt. Daryl saved me from a walker-”

“He was supposed to be looking for Sophia, Rick, but came back with her instead,” Carol added out of nowhere.

Rick turned to her and held up a hand telling her to be quiet and turned back to Madison, “I’m sorry about that, please go on.”

Madison looked at Carol out of the corner of her eyes, then back at Rick and continued, “He saved me from a walker in the woods and told me to follow him back to the main road and join the group since I was the last one alive out of mine.”

“We let you take lead searchin’ for Sophia and now you think you’re the one callin’ the shots? Is that it, Daryl?” the limper said, getting into Daryl’s face.

Never one to back down, Daryl matched the other man’s stare and closed the remaining space between them. Madison held her breath thinking a fist fight was about to break out between the two. “She saved my life back there,” he growled, “What was I supposed t'do, leave ‘er t’die? That what y’da done?” Madison expected yelling, but found his low growl of a response was more chilling than anything he could’ve yelled.

It seemed the other man agreed because he took a step back from Daryl, covering it up with a humorless chuckle and pointing back and forth between the two of them, “Oh, so now she saved you, ‘cause I thought you saved her. You two outta get your stories straight.”

“Shane, enough. They’re not on trial here,” Rick interjected trying to defuse the situation.

“They’re lying to us, Rick! You’re all right with that?”

“We ain’t lyin’!” Now Daryl was yelling, “I heard ‘er screamin’ an' I went runnin’ thinkin’ it was Sophia an’ I saw ‘er fightin’ a losin’ battle with a walker so I took that bitch out. I’s askin’ ‘bout Sophia when another one came up b’hind me an' she stabbed it in the head. I never saw it comin’, I’d be dead if it ain’t fer her. So yeah,” he turned back to Shane, challenging him, “I told ‘er she could come with us. Ya gotta problem with that?”

Shane nodded and stepped forward, accepting Daryl’s challenge. Rick jumped between the two men, pushing Shane back while Madison grabbed Daryl’s arm and tried to pull him away from Shane, but he just shook her off. She stepped in front of him and tried to catch his eye as she pushed against his chest, “Daryl, look at me. Daryl! Stop, you’re not helping.” That got his attention and he stopped trying to get at Shane, instead he shoved Madison’s hands away and stormed off without a word to cool off.

She watched him go and then turned back to Rick and Shane, very aware that now she was facing these two men alone. Even though Shane was dressed in clothes that were comically large for him, he still was a very intimidating man while Rick, on the other hand, seemed very rational and fair. Unsure of what to say in light of Daryl’s outburst, she stood in silence and waited for the verdict.

“It seems we owe you a thank you,” Rick finally said, breaking the silence and extending a hand, “It’s easy to risk your life to save a friend, but it takes somethin' special risk your life to save a stranger, I think this group could use some more of that. You’re welcome to stay with us as long as you like.”

Madison could tell Shane didn’t like Rick’s decision to let her stay, but he didn’t argue it. Clearly Rick had the final say in this group and if he said she could stay that was the end of it. Relieved, she accepted his outstretched hand and shook it, “Thank you.”

Rick nodded then faced the rest of the group, “Hershel lost one of his people gettin' medical supplies for Carl; we’re havin' a service for him in a few minutes. Go ahead and start gettin' settled, but don’t go far; we’ll let you know when the service is about to start.”

With that the group dispersed and Madison started off towards the RV to get her stuff when she heard someone come up behind her, “Madison, right?” She turned around to see a young woman, about Ally’s age, with jaw length brown hair standing behind her. She nodded and the brunette continued, “Are you okay? You look a little worse for wear.”

Madison laughed halfheartedly, “Yeah, I guess you can say that. No, I’m fine. Just tired.” Now that she was out of danger and had a safe place to sleep, she finally allowed herself to feel Ally’s death and she started to cry, “It’s been...words can’t describe how awful today has been.”

“This blood, is it yours?”

Madison shook her head unable to speak at first until she could control her tears somewhat. “It’s from the walker I killed. And Ally’s, my sister. She was the walker Daryl saved me from,” Madison dissolved into tears again.

“I’m so sorry, let’s get you inside and cleaned up,” the brunette woman offered as she led Madison towards the farmhouse.

Madison stood her ground and shook her head, “These people are kind enough to let us stay on their property; I can’t just go into their house without permission.”

“No really, it’s  okay,” the brunette laughed, “I’m Hershel’s daughter, Maggie. This is my house, I’m givin’ you permission. C’mon.”

Maggie led Madison inside and upstairs, stopping in the hallway she pointed to a door before disappearing briefly into another room, “Bathroom’s in there, use any shampoo or anythin’ else you need, just go easy on the hot water,” she called from the room she entered. A few seconds later she came out with some clothes in her hands, “I think these should fit you, you can borrow these until you get your stuff wearable. Oh, and clean towels are in the linen closet by the sink. Now, I don’t wanna be rude, but what on earth happened to your hair?”

Puzzled, Madison ran her fingers through her hair and laughed when she remembered it was gone, “Ally’s hand was caught in it when she attacked me and I had to get away from her so I panicked and cut it with my knife. Does it look that bad?”

“Go and see for yourself,” Maggie said, opening the bathroom door.

Madison looked in the mirror and couldn’t believe her eyes. She was covered in dirt and   
blood; it now made sense why everyone kept asking if she’d been bitten. But her hair is what got her, it was jagged and uneven and there were even some leaves caught in it from when she fell. She laughed and Maggie followed her in, now with scissors in hand, “I’m no hairdresser, but anythin’s gotta be better than this,” she laughed along with Madison, “Want me to try and even it up?”

Madison was still laughing when she nodded to Maggie and sat down on the edge of the   
tub, “Yeah, I think that’d be good.”

There wasn’t much Maggie could do to save Madison’s hair, it was short in the back and longer in the front because of where Madison had cut it above her hair-tie, and she ended up giving her a jaw length A-line cut. The only other option was to have it short all over like Carol’s and Madison didn’t want that if it could be helped. Maggie cut some longer, side swept bangs, trying to soften the cut. The two women babbled about beauty products they used to love and swapping bad haircut horror stories while Maggie worked, both loving the opportunity to indulge in some mindless girl talk. When Maggie was done, Madison looked in the mirror again and smiled, “Wow, it doesn’t suck. You sure you’re not a hairdresser?” She turned to Maggie, “Thank you. I’d hug you but…” she looked down and gestured to herself to make her point.

“You’re welcome,” Maggie said with a smile, “Don’t take too long, Otis’ service will be startin' soon and I know it will mean a lot to Patricia, his widow,” she quickly explained to the confused newcomer, “to have a big group there. Anythin' else you need, just ask.” Maggie left Madison to wash up. Standing in an actual shower, with warm water no less, she remembered days, before everything went bad, when she didn’t want to shower because it was too much of a hassle. She shook her head at her former self as she scrubbed the dirt and what was left of her sister away. Madison could’ve happily stayed in the shower for hours, but remembering Maggie’s request to go easy on the hot water and to attend Otis’ service she reluctantly turned off the water and grabbed a towel. Slowly she dried off and got dressed, ignoring the pain in her chest as she moved around.

She paused for a moment to look in the mirror before leaving the bathroom. She looked human again, only now with the dirt and grime washed away the black eye given to her by her ex-finance a week ago was clearly visible as were the bruises on her arms from his fingers now that she’d traded her elbow-length sleeved shirt for Maggie’s tank top. She shook her head, forcing images of that night from her mind. He’d thought her family was slowing them down and he wanted to leave them behind to save themselves and it turned ugly when Madison refused to abandon her family. He was dead, along with her mother, by the end of the night. ‘How can you lose so much in such a short amount of time?’ she asked herself as she pulled herself away from the mirror to go face the group again and honor a man she’d never met.

She was coughing by the time she reached the bottom step, her chest and back aching with each one. She paused trying to regain her composure and figure out exactly how long she had to put on a brave face. She was in constant pain and knew she needed medical attention, but was afraid Rick would rescind his offer if she became weak in his eyes. With her coughing under control she made her way out to the group. The service for Otis hadn’t started yet and everyone was slowly congregating near a large rock pile. As she approached the group she was relieved to see Daryl had returned. He was craning his neck, looking from person to person with an anxious expression on his face. As Madison drew closer their eyes met and his face relaxed, evidently he’d been looking for her. She walked over to him and stood between him and a young Asian man. “Hey,” she greeted Daryl timidly, unsure of his mood after his run in with Shane.

“When I got back an’ didn't’ see ya I thought they’d gone an’ sent ya packin’,” Daryl   
mumbled, “I was ‘bout t’go lookin’ fer ya.”

Madison suppressed a smile, it was nice to know at least one person in this group cared   
if she lived or died. “Hershel’s daughter took me upstairs to get cleaned up, fixed my hair, gave me some clean clothes,” she explained.

Daryl stole a quick look at her from head to toe, “Hmm,” then to hide the fact he liked what he saw, he quickly added, “Sorry I called yer sister a bitch, ain’t used t’walkers bein’ people, ya know?”

In the chaos of the near fight between Daryl and Shane, Madison had completely forgotten he had said that. She hadn’t known Daryl for very long, but she had a feeling apologies were rare from this man and it meant a lot to her that he thought enough of her to apologize. She nudged him to get him to look at her again and she gave him a small smile as she said, “Don’t worry about it, it’s  okay. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. We’re good.”

Daryl was relieved, but uncomfortable with the personal turn the conversation had taken. He wasn’t good at dealing with emotions and so he changed the conversation to the first thing he could think of, “Nice shiner. Courtesy of yer ex?” Madison looked to the ground and absent mindedly kicked a small rock by her feet; she really didn’t want to talk about this now so she just nodded. Daryl continued, “Don’t look very old, maybe a week? Where’s ‘e now?”

“He’s dead.”

“Good,” Daryl said, looking down at her with intense, blue eyes, “Prick got what 'e deserved.”

She nodded in agreement and was saved from any further discussion by Hershel stepping forward to honor his fallen friend. Beautiful words were spoken, though Madison was having trouble concentrating on them as she thought about the loved ones she’d lost. Patricia caught her attention when, voice cracking, she pleaded with Shane to share Otis’ final moments; saying that she needed to know his death had meaning. Shane, eventually, conceded and told a very rehearsed sounding story of the night Otis died. According to Shane, Otis was a hero who had selflessly laid down his life to save a young boy and to protect a stranger. Shane limped up to the rock pile, placed a rock on top and promised the grieving widow, “If any death ever had meanin', it was his.”

Madison looked around, Shane’s words seemed to comfort the mourning Patricia and the rest of the group believed his account of the night Otis died. She didn’t know Shane and it was wrong to make snap decisions about someone, but something didn’t feel right about his story and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She didn’t doubt that Otis was a good man, but she doubted that he died the way Shane said he did. She looked to the man on her left and saw Daryl watching Shane through narrowed eyes, a skeptical expression on his face.

Those who knew Otis said a few words, sharing their favorite Otis stories or celebrating his many attributes. Rick spoke for his family, expressing their gratitude for Otis’ sacrifice and assuring Otis’ loved ones that not a day would go by where he would not be remembered. Hershel offered a prayer to end the service and life went on as it had before. Lori ran inside to check on her son, Maggie took Patricia inside to rest and grab a map to aid in the search for Sophia, and everyone else split off to finish getting camp settled. Rick called Daryl over to join him and a few others to discuss how to proceed with looking for Sophia.

Madison returned to the RV to find her bags had already been unloaded and placed by a tree, confused she looked around trying to decide who had helped her. The young Asian she stood by at the service called out to her, “I was unloading the RV and didn’t recognize those bags, so I figured they must be yours. I hope you don’t mind me unloading them.”

“Of course not! It’s awesome, thank you...sorry, I feel like I don’t know anyone here, what’s your name?”

“Glenn,” he answered with a smile.

“Glenn, I think I can remember that,” she joked, “Thank you.”

One bag at a time she moved to a spot she thought would be out of everyone’s way to set up her tent. With a few exceptions, everyone was proving to be kind and even happy to have a new face added to the group, but she was still wary of stepping on any toes. She noticed Carol over by Glenn and Dale, helping set up camp and thought it was strange that she wasn’t over with the others trying to figure out a plan of attack for finding her daughter. ‘If I were in her shoes, there would be no power on earth that could keep me from joining the search,’ she thought to herself.

Slowly and carefully, she unloaded her tent from its bag, as she did so she glanced over to the group huddled by a car, planning the next stages in the search for the lost child, and saw Daryl leaning against the car, watching her. Shaking off his gaze, she started assembling her tent the best she could. It was making her nervous knowing he was watching her and every time she dropped something or put the wrong pole in the wrong place she’d sneak a peek in his direction and found him still looking at her and shaking his head. Flustered and exhausted she sat down and took a break from the embarrassing fight with her tent. She held her head in her hands and closed her eyes for a second and opened them again to find Daryl setting up her tent.

“You don’t need to do that, I had it under control,” she protested as she struggled to get to her feet.

“That ain’t how it looked t’ me,” Daryl countered, throwing a smirk at her over his shoulder, then added when he saw her trying to stand up, “Sit yer butt back down, I got it.” She ignored him and kept trying to stand. Aggravated he groaned and reached out his hand to her, she took it and he yanked her to her feet. She hung on to his arm as she tried to stabilize herself. Once she was okay he went back to work on the tent, “I know yer tryin’ to make a good impression, but yer bein’ a damn moron not gettin’ help when there’s a doctor ten feet from ya. Least ya could do was take it easy if y'ain’t gonna talk to the doc...,” Daryl had finished putting the tent together and looked up from his finished project to see her with her duffle and satchel carrying them over to the tent, “Dammit Madison, what did I jus’ say?”

“In a day or two when Carl is better I’ll go talk to Hershel, but for now I…” Madison couldn’t finish her sentence; she was coughing again, harder this time. Daryl rushed over and held her up as she coughed so hard tears came to her eyes. Daryl tried to calm her down and eventually she got the coughing under control. She opened her eyes and looked at the hand that had been covering her mouth and panic washed over her when she saw the blood covering it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next installment, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to everyone reading this, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. Feed back is how we improve and it's welcomed. I only own Madison.

Daryl led Madison over to a nearby cooler and fished out a bottle of water before closing the lid and making her sit down. Handing her the bottle he sat on his heels in front of her, trying to get her to look at him he quietly asked, “Where'd that come from, ya okay?” Madison shook her head and held out her bloodied hand, finally meeting his gaze. He saw the terror in her eyes and was afraid to see what she was showing him. He looked down to her outstretched hand and his eyes widened as he processed what he saw. He swallowed hard, forcing his emotions in check, she was scared and seeing him panic would only make matters worse. “Maddie, why the hell didn’t didn’t ya listen t’me b'fore?” he said, more gruffly than he intended.

“I really thought I’d be okay for a few more days,” she said weakly.

Daryl sighed, “I know ya did.” Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, he then turned and yelled over his shoulder, “Hershel! Where's Hershel? We need help, she’s coughin’ up blood!” Hershel heard the shouting and ran over, as quickly as his age allowed, to assess the situation. “What d’I do?” Daryl asked, his voice betraying the fear he felt.

“Take her inside and get her in the kitchen, I’ll be right behind you,” the older man said to Daryl, “I just need to get my supplies. Don’t worry, I’ll take of her.”

Daryl nodded to Hershel and wasted no time getting Madison inside the house and sitting at the kitchen table. Once she was seated she started coughing again, but not as violently as before. It seemed like an eternity while they waited for Hershel to come in. Madison leaned back in the chair, trying to find some relief to the pain she felt while Daryl anxiously paced back and forth, arms folded across his chest.

“Could you not do that? You’re freaking me out,” Madison finally said when his constant movement became too much for her to handle.

He stopped pacing and looked at her, “Can’t help it, the ol’ man’s takin’ a day an’ a half t'get here.”

“I know you’re anxious to go look for Sophia. It's okay, you can go. Hershel will be here any minute, I’ll be all right.”

“That ain’t it,” Daryl said as he started pacing again, “Ya shouldn’t be alone right now, I wanna be here an' make sure yer okay,” he finished, raising his right hand to his mouth and nibbling on his thumb, a nervous tick he’d had for as long as he could remember.

“You...want to stay?” Madison was taken aback. She’d only known this man a few hours and in that short time he’d already shown more concern for her well being than her fiancé had in the three years they were together. Daryl didn't answer her, but she took his silence as a yes. “Then stop pacing and sit down,” she pleaded, pushing the chair next to her away from the table for him. He looked at her, then to the chair, and back to her before taking a seat. She had meant it when she said she was okay with him going to look for Sophia, but she was grateful he chose to stay with her. She felt safer when he was around, a feeling which was completely foreign to her. She didn't know why, but having him nearby made her feel like somehow everything would be okay.

“You called me Maddie earlier,” Madison blurted out, breaking the silence that had taken over the room.

Daryl grimaced, “Ya caught that, huh?” Madison nodded. “I’s hopin’ ya missed it with everythin’ goin’ on.”

“No one’s ever called me that before.”

“I know y'got that thing with yer name, it just slipped out; won’t happen again.”

She took a breath before responding, “It’s okay if it happens again.”

Daryl shot her a puzzled look, “What? After all that grief ya gave me this mornin’?”

“Yeah, even after that,” she chuckled, “For some reason you giving me a nickname doesn’t bug me like when others have done it. I like it.” Daryl’s face went from puzzled to exasperated and that only made Madison laugh more, “What?”

Daryl leaned back in his chair and ran a hand across his face. “Ya women‘re all insane,” he teased with a small smile.

She glared at him, “You’re lucky I’m injured and can’t hurt you right now.” He gave a low chuckle in response.

“How’s the patient?” Hershel asked, stepping in the room, “You seem more relaxed, that’s good.”

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Madison answered, sneaking a glance at Daryl.

Hershel dragged a stool over from the counter, “Think you can manage to get yourself up here and tell me what happened? Have you had attacks like this before?”

She closed her eyes and took a breath as she braced herself for standing and was taken by surprise when a pair of strong arms guided her out of her chair and over to the stool. She gave Daryl a faint smile as a silent thank you and he acknowledged it with a slight nod before he moved across the room to lean against the door frame where he’d be out of the way.

“Thank you, son, I’ve got it from here,” Hershel said, dismissing Daryl.

Madison saw Daryl prickle at Hershel’s words. “Who ya callin’ ‘son’, ol' man?” he fumed.

Knowing he was about to fly off the handle again, Madison shot Daryl a scathing look that stopped him in his tracks. ‘That’s a good trick,’ she thought to herself, tucking her new skill away for later use. Bringing her attention back to Hershel, “Actually, Doctor..." her voice trailing off as she realized she didn't know his full name, she didn't know anyone's full name.

"Greene." Hershel volunteered, catching on to why she didn't finish her thought.

"Greene? Thank you. Doctor Greene, I’d like him to stay if that’s all right.”

“That’s up to you; if you want him to stay he can stay. I just thought you might like a little privacy.”

“Thanks, Doc, but I need a familiar face more than privacy right now.”

“All right," he agreed, "And you don’t have to call me ‘doctor’, Hershel will do just fine. Now, what exactly happened to you?”

“I tripped over a root trying to get away from a walker and I fell backwards and landed on a rock. I heard something snap or pop. Since then my back’s been killing me and it hurts when I breathe and then the coughing blood thing.” She could feel Daryl’s eyes on her and risked a quick glance in his direction, his expression telling her to keep going or he’d do the talking for her. She exhaled deeply before continuing. “And I guess I haven’t been taking it as easy as I should have,” she finished with a cough as if her body was trying to illustrate her point.

“That’s the understatement of the year,” Daryl scoffed.

“What do you mean?” Hershel asked the younger man, inviting him to continue.

“Since I found ‘er she’s fought off two walkers, walked a couple of miles,carrying heavy bags for some of ‘em, tried, an’ failed, t'put up a tent on 'er own. Didn’t leave nothin’ out, did I Maddie?” he asked her with a smug smile.

Madison didn’t respond; she could only sit there slack jawed. Hearing Daryl list off everything she’d done since she’d injured herself finally made her see how stupid she’d been by putting off talking to Hershel like she had.

“You’re lucky to still be up and movin',” Hershel informed her. “I think I know what’s wrong from the sounds of it but I’d still like to examine you,” he explained pulling out his stethoscope, “Without proper equipment I can’t offer you a one hundred percent accurate diagnosis, but I’m good at what I do and I can get pretty close.” Hershel went about his business trying his best to deduce what was wrong with his patient. He had already noticed her quick, shallow breaths. He listened to her heart and lungs, noting her rapid heart rate and the crackling noise in her chest as she breathed. Continuing his examination Hershel noticed the slight blue tint to her fingers and around her lips, it was clear she wasn’t getting enough oxygen. “How long have you been coughin'?” he asked, setting his stethoscope aside.

“Coming downstairs after Maggie let me clean up, right before Otis’ service, I had a coughing fit, but I wasn’t coughing up blood until Daryl called you over.”

“Not very long then? All right.” Hershel moved behind Madison, “I need to look at your back and see the point of impact.” Lifting up the back of her shirt he was not surprised to find a large bruise forming. “My guess is you have a fractured rib, without an x-ray the only way to tell is for me to press on your ribs. I won’t lie to you, it’s goin' to hurt. I just want you to be prepared.”

Madison nodded, gripping her knees as she braced herself. The first rib Hershel examined was tender, but it didn’t hurt too badly, but the next rib was worse and caused her to grimace in pain and made tears to spring to her eyes. Daryl hated seeing her in pain and wished he could do something for her. He walked across the small kitchen and dragged a chair over to her and sat down, taking her hand in his. “Squeeze if ya needa.” 

Hershel moved on to another rib and the pressure caused Madison to scream. Hershel stopped the examination immediately. “Like I suspected, you’ve got yourself a fractured rib, at least one, and several others are bruised.”

“That don’t make sense, how can a bruised rib make 'er cough blood?” Daryl asked, still holding her hand.

“I don’t understand either,” Madison echoed Daryl’s confusion, “What’s wrong with me? Is it serious? Am I going to…can I...” she couldn’t bring herself to finish her thought, she was mentally and physically exhausted and in more pain after Hershel’s examination than she had been all day and was not in the frame of mind to see anything besides the worst possible outcome.

“Die?” Hershel finished her question for her. She nodded, fighting a new wave of tears. With a kind smile he shook his head and continued, “No, you're not gonna die. When you fell and fractured your ribs the impact didn’t stop there, the momentum from your fall had to go somewhere so it went into your lung. You have a pulmonary contusion.”

“A what?” Daryl asked for both of them, rubbing her hand with his thumb, “That sounds real bad.”

“It can be, but it sounds worse than it is. Basically you’ve bruised your lung. That’s why you’re havin' difficulty breathin' and coughin' blood; the blood causin' the bruisin' has to go somewhere, so it’s good you’re gettin' it out. I’m gonna wrap your chest in a bandage to try and stabilize your rib cage and you are gonna take it easy, young lady,” Hershel gave her a stern look, emphasizing the importance of his statement, “At least as easy and you can these days. All we can do is give your injuries time and they’ll start healin' themselves. You should be feelin' better in a week or two, but the ribs will take up to six weeks to heal completely.” Hershel pulled a couple of pills out of his bag and brought her a glass of water and placed the pills in her free hand, “I don’t have a lot of them, but these pain killers should balance out what I just put you through. I wish I could do more, but we have to make them last. Now Daryl, I am gonna insist that you leave while I wrap her up, besides I’m sure Rick is wonderin' where you ran off to; he’s just as anxious to find that little girl as you are.”

“'lright,” Daryl muttered, before he stood to leave he gave Madison’s hand a squeeze, “I’ll check in when I get back.” With that he stood and walked through the door, pausing to turn around and look back at her one more time, she caught his eyes and mouthed the words ‘thank you’ to him. Suddenly uncomfortable with the situation he found himself in, Daryl broke eye contact, looked down to the floor and quickly left the room all but running out the front door. His mind wandered as he left the house. He barely knew this girl and he couldn’t figure out why he was so concerned about her and whether she was going to be okay or not. He was at a loss as to why he’d chosen to stay with her through all that and why being with her put him at ease in a way he’d never known before.

“Daryl,” Rick’s voice snapped Daryl out of his train of thought, “How is she?”

“Hershel says she’ll be 'lright, bruised lungs’r somethin',” he reported as he continued walking, heading out to search for Sophia.

“You okay on your own?”

“Better on m’own,” Daryl replied, answering Rick’s question as much as trying to convince himself that he didn't need Madison around, “Don’t worry; I’ll be back b’fore dark.”

“Hey,” the sheriff called after him, “We got a base; we can get this search properly organized now.”

“Ya got a point or are we jus’ chattin’?”

“My point is it lets you off the hook. You don’t owe us anythin'.”

Daryl turned his back to Rick, “M’other plans fell through.” He stormed off, thinking about Merle and where they’d be if he hadn’t been left on that roof. He chose to believe that it was thoughts of his brother that upset him and not the thought leaving the group, leaving Maddie, as Rick suggested he was free to do.

Rick watched Daryl walk away and shook his head at the other man’s short fuse. He heard the door open and saw Madison and Hershel step out of the farmhouse. “Good to see you’re among the livin', you gave us a scare,” he said warmly to Madison. “Hershel, can I speak with you for a moment?”

The older man nodded to Rick before focusing his attention on Madison, “Now I want you to take it easy. No more pickin’ fights or goin' on hikes today, all right? Doctor’s orders.”

“I’ll do my best, but I can’t make any promises” Madison quipped with a smile, “Thank you for everything.” Madison set out toward her tent, excited at the prospect of resting and allowing her mind to catch up with the whirlwind her day had been. Her excitement quickly faded as she approached her tent and saw Lori and Glenn standing right outside her tent door, in the middle of what looked like a very private conversation. Still determined to lay down and rest she told herself that she had every right to go into her tent, if they had a problem with her being within earshot they should leave, not her. She was dead set on following through with her plan until she got closer and caught the tail end of their conversation.

“Uh...what is it?” she overheard Glenn ask.

“Kinda missing the point of the whole discreet thing, Glenn.” Madison came to a stop at Lori’s words, uncertain now if she wanted to interrupt.

“Oh, right. Um...I just, I just need to know where to find it.”

“Try the feminine hygiene section.” Hearing that Madison turned on her heel to go back the way she came, she most definitely did not want to interrupt.

“Oh, enough said. Consider it done,” Glenn replied although he still sounded unsure of what he was being asked for. Lori turned and walked away leaving Glenn to his confusion.

Madison waited a few seconds before returning to camp, hoping that it would seem as if she had just barely arrived. Trying to act casual she waved to Glenn as she walked past him and over to Lori who was gathering laundry. “Need a hand?” she offered when she reached Lori.

“How much of that did you hear?”

“I, uh...how much did I hear of…?”

“I know you saw me talking to Glenn just now and I want to know how much you heard,” Lori demanded. 

“I was just going to my tent and I saw you two talking and I turned around so I wouldn’t interrupt you,” Madison tried to justify herself, but one look at Lori and she knew Lori wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “All I heard is that you need something from the feminine hygiene section and you want it done discreetly. I wasn’t trying to overhear your conversation, I swear. I just wanted to get to my tent.”

Lori stared at her for a moment and nodded, “Please keep this to yourself. I don’t want anyone finding out, not even Rick.”

"My lips are sealed. Not that I have much to tell, for all I know you need some Tampax.” Her attempt at putting Lori at ease with humor fell flat so she added, “Lori, whatever it is, well, it’s not my secret to tell. I won’t breathe a word of it to anyone. I may not be good at much but trust me, I can keep a secret.” As she said this she thought back to how bad things had been with her finance. He was wonderful and charming when they were dating, but as soon as the ring was on her finger it was like someone had flipped a switch and he wasn’t the man she’d known. No one knew what he was like; to an outsider they looked like the perfect, happy couple. Unfortunately, she had become very good at keeping secrets. She forced him out of her head, he’d spent enough time there while he was alive, and changed the subject, “So can I give you a hand with all these clothes?”

Lori gave her a grateful smile, “That’d be great, thanks.”

As the two women were settling in for an afternoon of washing clothes Dale ran towards them at full speed, at least full speed for Dale, “Lori, we’ve got a situation at the well, where’s Rick?”

Seemingly out of nowhere Shane replied, “Rick’s off talkin' with Hershel, no need to bother him. What’s goin' on?” His sudden appearance made Madison jump; she hadn’t noticed him return to camp with Andrea and Carol. Madison cast her eyes around the small cluster of people, ‘No new faces. Crap, that means Sophia wasn’t at the highway,’ she thought.

Dale answered Shane’s question simply, “There’s a walker in the well.”

“Of course, there would be, wouldn’t there? C’mon everyone, let’s go take care of it,” Shane ordered, everyone followed him except for Carol, who quietly slipped into the RV, and Madison. “Hey, new girl, you comin' or not?”

“I’m not. Hershel just examined me and told me I have fractured and bruised ribs. I don’t think I’d be much help to anybody.”

“Huh, isn’t that convenient?” Shane sneered, “The rest of you, let's go.”

Madison went back to the laundry in front of her, quickly doing a set of her own clothes first so they’d be dry and she could wash the clothes Maggie had lent her and, if she was lucky, they’d be dry enough for her to give back to Maggie tonight. She’d never been comfortable borrowing anything and could never relax until the borrowed items were returned to their rightful owner and now her precarious situation in the group only emphasized her need to not owe favors to anyone.

She’d been doing the laundry for about an hour, or so it felt, and the sounds she heard from inside the RV had changed from Carol softly crying to a lot of moving around and clanging of dishes. Madison toyed with the idea of going inside to see if everything was okay. She quickly dismissed the idea, however, rationalizing that she was the last person Carol would want to see   
right now, especially since she blamed Madison for distracting Daryl from his search. It irritated her that Carol looked to everyone else to take the blame for Sophia’s disappearance. If she wasn’t blaming Madison for merely existing in the same woods as Sophia, she was blaming Daryl for not focusing enough, and if not Daryl she was sure the blame would be passed elsewhere, Rick perhaps. He was the obvious leader of this group and as such Madison was certain he shouldered his share of the blame in Carol's eyes. She also didn’t understand how Daryl could risk his life by wandering the woods alone searching for Sophia twice in one day, but all Carol could do is go sit by a parked car on the highway? It was true Madison didn’t have children so she could never fully understand the pain Carol was going through, but how could she just sit and do nothing? She remembered earlier that morning when she’d discovered Ally was missing and the urgency she felt in needing to go find her, there was no way she could’ve stayed at camp and hoped that Ally found her way back. And that was just her sister, not her child.

An earsplitting crash came from inside the RV and all of Madison’s reasons for not checking on Carol vanished as she carefully, but quickly, climbed inside to make sure Carol was all right. “Carol?” she called, announcing her presence, “I heard the crash; I just wanted to make sure you were okay. What happened?”

Carol was standing in front of the kitchenette surrounded by the entire contents of the cupboard. To Madison it looked like either the shelving had fallen out of the cupboard or that it had decided to play volcano and erupt all over her. Carol kneeled down and starting picking up the various kitchenware littering the floor. “I’m fine,” she mumbled, “I wanted to tidy the place up, make it look nice for Sophia when she gets back, apparently the cupboard had other plans.” With some difficulty, Madison managed to bend down and help the slightly older woman pick the cupboard contents up off the floor. “You don’t need to bother, I can do it,” Carol insisted.

“I know, but I’d like to help,” Madison offered, standing to stack some fallen dishes on the limited counter space, “I could use a break from laundry, my fingers are getting all pruny, plus this place is mess and Daryl will be back with Sophia before you know it…”

“Don’t patronize me,” Carol snapped.

“I wasn’t patronizing you. I really believe he'll find her. I mean, look how much he’s done to find her just today.” Then a realization hit her like a freight train, “He’s done more for her than her own father.”

Carol looked down and folder her arms, “Her father’s dead.”

Madison’s hands flew to her mouth, “Oh Carol, I had no idea. I’m so, so sorry.” She felt awful, this poor woman had been through so much; maybe she had judged her too quickly.

“Don’t be,” Carol replied, busying herself by picking up the last few fallen items on the floor. “He was a cruel man and the world is a better place with him gone. But you’re right; even if he was still alive he wouldn’t have done half of what Daryl has done.” Silence fell between the two women as they continued to straighten the RV, neither quite sure what to say next. Eventually Carol broke the silence, gesturing to her eye she asked Madison, “But you know all about that kind of man, am I right?”

Startled, Madison spluttered, “Is it that obvious? No one else has said anything, how could you tell?”

“I’ve had those same bruises,” Carol answered with a sad smile, “The others, they don’t get it. Unless you’ve lived through it, it’s the furthest thing from your mind. What happened to your husband?”

“Fiancé actually, some walkers got him,” Madison replied though her mind was elsewhere. Carol’s words kept playing over and over again in her mind, ‘Unless you’ve lived through it, it’s the furthest thing from your mind’. That was true of everyone in camp with one exception, Daryl. He knew right away where her bruises came from; she’d told him about the cheating, but hadn’t said a word about the violence. She was sure a man his size and with his temper hadn’t had some girlfriend beating up on him in the past; the only conclusion she could come to was that his father beat him when he was young. She hoped she was wrong, but it was the only possibility that made sense. Forcing herself back to the present she spoke again, “It’s nice having someone around who understands.” She then changed the subject, not wanting to talk about it anymore, “Okay, I think we’re just about done. I’m going to go up front and try to make some sense of Dale’s cockpit and I think that about does it.”

Carol surprised Madison with a quick hug and a quiet thank you before she went to the back of the RV and pulled out a small pile of mending to work on. The two women worked in comfortable silence aside from Madison’s occasional commentary when she’d find something particularly noteworthy in the chaos surrounding the driver’s seat. They were giggling at an old picture of Dale in a band uniform when the door to the RV opened and Daryl walked in. Madison was relieved to see him back safely. She gave him a questioning look, silently asking about Sophia and he shook his head in response before heading to the back of the RV to find Carol.

“I cleaned up, wanted it to be nice for her,” Madison could hear the sadness in Carol’s voice knowing that he had returned alone.

“Fer a second I thought I was in the wrong place,” he replied before placing a single white flower in a beer bottle vase on the nearest flat surface, a gesture that filled Madison with a twinge of jealousy, although she wasn’t sure why.

“A flower?” Carol asked stunned and confused; Madison was sure it had been years since anyone had given Carol a flower.

“It’s a Cherokee Rose,” Daryl explained. “The story is that when American soldiers were movin' Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grievin' an’ cryin' so much ‘cause they were losin' their lil’ ones along the way from exposure an’ disease an’ starvation. A lotta ‘em jus’ disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked fer a sign t'uplift the mothers’ spirits, give ‘em strength an’ hope. The next day this rose started t’grow right where the mothers’ tears fell.”

Madison was touched by the gentle way Daryl spoke to the grieving mother, but she was very uncomfortable listening. She felt like she was intruding on a very intimate moment; she wanted to leave, but didn’t want to draw attention to herself so she sat as still as she could in the driver’s seat as Daryl continued, “I’m not fool ‘nough t'think there’s any flowers bloomin' fer my brother. But I believe this one bloomed fer yer lil’ girl.”

She could hear Carol sniffing and knew she was crying again and she saw Daryl start shifting his weight from leg to leg, uncomfortable with Carol’s tears. Unable to take it anymore, Madison tried to slip out of the RV before anyone noticed she was still there, but as she stood to leave Daryl turned around and saw her. Their eyes met and Madison dropped her gaze, she could feel her cheeks turning red with the embarrassment of getting caught and she rushed out the door to get back to work on the laundry, closing the door to the RV behind her.

She could hear Daryl say something else to Carol before he left, but she couldn’t make out what it was. Moments later he emerged and sheepishly approached her; embarrassed that she was witness to his conversation with Carol. He prided himself on his tough-guy persona and had spent his entire life building walls to keep people from seeing anything beyond that; emotions made him uncomfortable and he didn’t know how to handle them, which made him either self-conscious or lash out. “How’re ya feelin’?” he finally asked, looking at his shoes the whole time.

His discomfort adding to her own, Madison focused her eyes on the wet shirt in her hands, “I’m okay, the pain meds Hershel gave me are starting to wear off, but the bandage helps.”

Without a word Daryl strode to his brother’s motorcycle, sifted through the bag strapped to the back, and returned with a pill bottle in hand. He tossed it to Madison, “From my brother’s stash, if them pills don’t make ya feel better, nothin’ will. Don’t go tellin’ nobody I gave ya that. I gave ‘em the rest of it the other day, guess these fell out. I found ‘em last night. Ev’rybody’ll think I’s holdin’ out on ‘em if they find out I had ‘em.”

“Thanks,” Madison muttered, pocketing the pills for later. If that was all they had, she had to make them last. He responded with a grunt, stood there for another few seconds like he had something else to say, but instead he turned and wandered off, leaving her to her laundry once again.

Dusk began to fall across the farm and the group congregated back at camp for dinner. Madison didn’t want to be presumptuous and eat their food so she slipped into her tent and pulled an old stick of jerky out of her satchel. She looked at her meager food supply while she nibbled on the jerky and decided that tomorrow morning she’d give what she had to Dale to add to the group’s supply as an act of good faith, to prove she was willing to do what it took to be part of this group. She exited the tent and sat down on a cooler, away from the group.

“What do you think you’re doin' all the way over there? We can make room over here,” a bald African American man with a friendly smile said as he crossed the camp and approached her. “I haven’t had a chance to introduce myself properly, name’s T-Dog,” he said extending his hand to her.

She shook his hand, “Madison.”

T-Dog laughed, “Yeah, I know who you are, we all saw your little...exchange with Shane this mornin'.” He pulled her to her feet and picked up the cooler she was sitting on and carried it over to join the group, putting it down next to Andrea who handed her a plate of food when she got settled. Madison sat and observed the people around her, it had taken all day but she finally had a name to go with every face and she found that comforting. She listened as they teased back and forth and laughed, reminding her of family dinners, and soon felt at ease enough to join in the conversation here and there.

After everyone ate the group dissipated as people decided it was time to go to bed. Madison stood and checked on the clothes Maggie had loaned her earlier, pleased to discover they were dry enough to return. She pulled them down from the makeshift clothes line and folded them neatly before setting out towards the farmhouse. She knew the farm was safe, but made sure her knife was in place before crossing the property alone at night. She could hear men’s muffled voices as she reached the door; she knocked, but no one heard. She tested the door and quietly slipped inside when she discovered it was unlocked deciding she would run upstairs, drop off Maggie’s clothes, and sneak out again before anyone knew she was there.

A small group of men, Rick, Shane, Hershel, and Daryl, were gathered in the Greene family’s living room, discussing how best to search for Sophia the following day. Daryl was informing the others of an abandoned farmhouse he’d found earlier that day and the nest of blankets he’d found inside, explaining why he thought there was a good chance it was Sophia who had holed up there. Rick thought it sounded promising; however Shane, still upset with Daryl from that morning, remained unconvinced. Movement caught Daryl’s eye as the other men talked and he saw Madison sneaking upstairs, he excused himself and followed her, putting his hunting skills to use and staying far enough behind her that she didn’t know he was there.

Out of breath, Madison reached the landing and found Maggie’s door was closed, she set the clothes in her arms down in front of the door, hoping that Maggie would see them in the morning. At the end of the hall she saw an open door with light coming from inside and she crept down the hall, trying to remain undetected, to see if Maggie was in there by chance. When she looked in she saw a little boy asleep in the bed and figured this must be Carl. She checked to see if she was by herself and went in to sit with him for a minute, not wanting this poor child to be alone, even though he was sleeping.

Once she was inside Carl’s room Daryl approached the bedroom, still in stealth mode. As he got closer he heard her softly singing a lullaby to the sleeping boy. Madison had her back to the door and was holding Carl’s tiny hand in hers. Daryl was captivated by the sight before him and leaned against the doorframe watching and listening, with a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his lips. He was so caught up watching Madison, his mind drifting back to the feel of her hand in his earlier, that he didn’t hear Shane approaching.

“What the hell do you think you’re doin'?” He hissed at Madison when he entered the   
room and saw her sitting by Carl.

She jumped and felt her blood run cold when she saw the fury in Shane’s expression, “I’m sorry, I was just...he was alone and I just…” she stammered, unable to form a complete sentence with Shane’s eyes on her.

“We don’t know you. Rick may be okay with you stayin' here, but I’m not. I don’t trust you and I sure as hell don’t trust you in here with Carl. And you,” Shane turned on Daryl, “what were you doing standin' there watchin'? Were you gonna say anythin'?”

Daryl pulled himself up to his full height and met Shane’s angry gaze, “Lori asked ‘er t'stay with ‘im while she stepped out. I’ve been ‘ere the whole time, the boy’s fine. Besides, I never heard of any kid ever gettin’ hurt from a lullaby.” Daryl made eye contact with Madison and jerked his head towards the door, telling her it was time to leave.

She got up to follow Daryl and Shane roughly grabbed her arm as she passed. “You’re on thin ice. Watch your step,” he growled, shoving her towards Daryl when he released her. Daryl led her out of the room with his hand on the small of her back, eyes trained on Shane.

Once they were outside on the porch Madison started apologizing, her words tumbling out in a constant stream, “I’m sorry, I just wanted to help. He looked so small and alone. I couldn’t help it; I just wanted to be there for him. I never thought anyone would have a problem with it, I wasn’t thinking, I-”

“Damn right ya weren’t thinkin'!” Daryl cut her off, “I ain’t lyin’ t'Shane fer ya again! I’m on thin ice with these people too. Ya think they’ll need me after we find Sophia? I don't’ need some dumb bitch draggin’ me down with ‘er. Use yer head next time!”

Madison stared at Daryl with tears in her eyes, “I don’t know what else you want me to say, I-I’m sorry.”

Shane stepped outside, hearing their exchange, and came up behind them, “Since you are such good buddies and since you both just want to help people, I guess you two won’t mind takin' over watch for Dale tonight, I know he’ll appreciate it. Thanks.” Shane walked away, purposely knocking into Daryl with his shoulder as he walked away.

“Well, ain’t that just terrific?” Daryl threw his words at Madison as he stormed off towards the RV, leaving Madison in tears alone on the porch.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for reading and leaving kudos, it really encourages me to keep going. I don't know why but I struggled with this chapter until the last few pages when everything started to flow and I couldn't stop writing. And that's the story of how it's 7:00 a.m. and I still haven't been to sleep. I do my own editing and I'm sure I missed some mistakes in my sleep deprived state so be kind. I hope you enjoy the chapter. As always, I only own Madison.

Madison stood watching Daryl’s back disappear into the darkness, determined to hold herself together until he was out of sight. Once she couldn’t pick out his shape in the shadows she started shaking and sat down on the porch steps before her legs gave out. The way Shane grabbed her and Daryl’s biting words brought her back to when her fiancé was alive. Without warning her bandage became unbearably restrictive and she struggled to take a breath; on the verge of hyperventilating she started coughing again. After a few painful minutes the coughing passed and her breathing returned to normal. Angrily, she eyed the spots of red on her hands and rubbed them clean on her jeans. She leaned back against the railing and wiped a stray tear from her cheek; she hated feeling this way. She’d made a promise to herself the night her fiancé died that she would never let herself feel this way again, never allow herself to fall into the role of victim again. She’d made that promise just a week ago and it was already broken.

A fresh wave of tears began to fall and she brushed them away, irritated with herself for being so weak. ‘Snap out of it, Madison,’ she coached herself, ‘you’re stronger than this.’ She forced herself to remember that the defeat she was feeling was all in her mind; it was going to take time to heal from the damage caused by her fiancé, that she shouldn’t be internalizing the rage and the blame. She couldn’t change the past, but she could take control of the present by doing something and standing up for herself. Madison knew confronting Shane would only make matters worse, that words would never reach him; he was a problem for another day. Daryl was another story. She knew her words could reach him or rather she hoped they could, she hoped she hadn’t misjudged him; that he wasn’t brutal and unkind like most men she’d known. She desperately wanted her first instincts about him to be right; if she was honest with herself it went far beyond want. She needed to be right about him. She winced as she quickly stood up, dried the last of her tears and, fuming, marched towards the RV. She had to act fast before her frustration and anger subsided and she calmed down or she’d lose her nerve. She wasn’t accustomed to defending herself and she needed fuel on the fire to keep her moving forward.

*****

Daryl regretted his words the moment they left his lips, but his temper had taken over and he was powerless to stop the onslaught. Walking away was easier than admitting he was in the wrong and his pride kept him from doing anything else. “Stupid girl can’t bother t’use the brain in 'er head. Starts cryin’ ‘cause I point out the obvious an' call ‘er on ‘er shit. What I wouldn’t give t’kick Shane’s teeth in, smug bastard,” he muttered to himself as he crossed Hershel’s property towards the RV, riling himself up so he would forget the tears in Madison’s eyes, the tears he put there. Anger gave way to remorse and, camouflaged by the darkness of night, he turned back to check on Madison only to see her sink to the porch shaking. Everything within him wanted to run to her, to apologize to her and try to make amends, so he took a small step towards her before a familiar voice in his head stopped him in his tracks. The nagging voice changed as it spoke, morphing from Merle’s voice to Daryl’s father’s before becoming his own, ‘Ah, hell, I’m the las’ person she’d wanna see right now, the dumb, redneck ass that jus’ ripped ‘er a new one.’

Daryl found his way to Merle’s motorcycle, snatched up his crossbow and threw it over his shoulder before climbing to the roof of the RV to relieve Dale of watch duty for the night. The sound of Daryl scaling the ladder made Dale jump, “You just about gave me a heart attack Daryl, what are you doing up here?”

“Shane wants Madison an’ me t'take over watch so ya can rest.”

“You’re not going to hear me complaining,” admitted Dale, handing Daryl his rifle. He glanced toward the farmhouse and saw Madison wiping away tears. “Is she up for watch? I mean, look at her. After everything she’s been through today shouldn’t she be resting?”

A knot formed in Daryl’s stomach as he followed Dale’s gaze and his eyes settled on Madison. “She’ll be fine, Dale,” he mumbled, turning away.

“Are you sure? She looks like she’s been crying.”

“She lost ‘er sister today, ‘course she’s cryin’.”

“Sister, right. Sure that’s it?”

“That ain’t 'nough?”

Dale gave Daryl a knowing look, “You tell me.”

“Ya got somethin’ t’say t’me, ya best spit it out,” Daryl warned, taking a threatening step towards the older man.

Dale sighed, “I saw you two a second ago, I didn’t hear what was said, but I saw you yelling at her. I don’t know what happened and I don’t need to, that’s between the two of you, but you have to fix it. You know I’m right.” Daryl didn’t say anything; he only lowered his gaze and relaxed his aggressive stance. “It will be all right, we all say things we regret.” Dale slapped him on the back as he went to leave.

“What if yer wrong? Shane’s gotta problem with ‘er ‘cause 'e’s gotta problem with me. She ain't done a thing wrong 'cept showin' up 'ere with me," Daryl was pacing as he spoke and jabbing himself with his index finger he continued, "I told Maddie she was draggin' me down, but I was wrong; I'm the one draggin' 'er down. How can ya stand there an' tell me t'fix things when distancin' myself from 'er is the best thing fer 'er?" He stopped pacing, breathing heavily from his pent up frustration, and turned towards the farmhouse to find Madison making her way to the RV. Anger gave way to melancholy and shame as she approached. 'She deserves better,' he silently told himself.

“And that, right there. That’s why you fix it,” Dale hinted, “You want what’s best for her, no matter the personal cost. Jumping between her and Shane like that this morning? Definitely not the best thing for you, but it was for her. I’ve never seen you stick your neck out for someone else before; she's good for you. That’s why you fix it. That and you call her ‘Maddie’,” the older man teased.

“Shut up,” Daryl warned.

Quietly laughing to himself, Dale climbed down the ladder, nearly tripping over Madison when he reached the ground.

“Where is he, Dale? Is he up there?”

“Yeah, he’s up there. Madison, go easy on him,” he pleaded when he saw the pain and determination in her eyes.

“What? No! Why?”

“Just trust me, go easy on him. He may just surprise you,” Dale insisted, side stepping Madison and making his way to the door of his RV.

“What are you talking about? That didn’t answer my question,” she called after him.

“Good night Madison,” he answered, closing the door behind him.

Madison let out an exasperated groan and paused before climbing the ladder, letting Dale’s words sink in. ‘Go easy on him? Why on earth should I?’ she asked herself as she started climbing. 'He doesn’t know the whole story or he’d never ask me to cut Daryl some slack. After the things he said? No way.’

Daryl heard Madison making her way to the roof and he felt every muscle in his body tighten, he wasn’t ready to face her and didn’t know if he could rely on himself to behave and not say anything else he would end up regretting. “Weren’t sure if y’re comin’ or not,” he greeted her without looking at her.

Madison rolled her eyes, “Look, I know you don’t want me around, but I’d rather have you pissed off at me than Shane so here I am.”

At a loss for words, Daryl didn’t answer. He was at war with himself, debating if he should follow Dale’s advice and fix things with the woman behind him or if he should push her away. He didn’t want to push her away, but he still wondered if distance would be better for her in the long run. Wasn’t he telling Rick earlier that he was better on his own? He opened his mouth to lash out and closed it again. He couldn’t do it; he couldn’t alienate her like that. It was ridiculous and selfish, but he didn’t want to lose her.

Madison misinterpreted his silence, unaware of the battle raging inside him, and thought he was ignoring her. “Daryl, I have something to say.” Silence. “I know you can hear me, you’re not deaf. Daryl!” Fed up with being ignored she picked up the first thing she could find, a half-full bottle of water, and chucked it at his head, “Look at me!”

“Ouch! Maddie, what the hell?” he asked, finally looking at her and rubbing his head.

“Don’t you ‘Maddie’ me! You don’t get to talk to me like that. Ever again. You got that? The things you said and the shouting? Not okay! Especially when you know what I’ve been through and how badly it messed me up. Yes, sometimes I act without thinking, but that doesn’t make me dumb. Caring about others does not make me a liability, or in this crappy new world maybe it does, but you know what? I don’t care, I want to hold on to whatever shred of humanity I have left. Either way that does not excuse what happened earlier!” She paused to take a breath, feeling the rage leave her body. She continued more calmly, “Deep down, I don’t think you’re ‘that guy’; the heartless, yelling madman, so stop pretending to be. We’re both on thin ice, so what? Let’s help each other get to safety, because we can’t do it alone. I’ve lost so much already,” her voice cracked, “and God help me I trust you with my life, I can’t lose that too. I can’t lose the one man I trust in the entire world.”

When her tirade was over, she stood with her head down, eyes closed, and hands on her hips, bracing herself for Daryl’s response which she was sure would not be pleasant to endure. Whatever came next, she’d accomplished her goal; she’d stood up for herself and said what she needed to say. Seconds felt like hours as she waited for Daryl to say something, anything. She was prepared for anger and more yelling, possibly him taking a swing at her, but nothing could have prepared her for the two words she heard, “Yer right.”

Her head snapped up and stared at him in disbelief, not trusting her ears she whispered, “Come again?”

“Yer right,” he repeated, refusing to meet her gaze. Being open and honest was not his forte, but he gave it a try; he wasn’t going to try and push her away, but at least he was going to give her an out, “I was a dick an’ ya don’t deserve that. Y'ain’t draggin’ me down, I’m draggin’ ya down. All that stickin’ t’gether stuff ya jus' said was real nice, but I won’t blame ya if ya wanna cut ties. Ya don’t owe me anythin’.”

“You think I’m sticking by you because I think I owe you something? I meant what I said. Let’s tough it out together,” she stepped forward and put a tentative hand on his shoulder. “The two black sheep against the herd. Deal?” she asked removing her hand and extending it towards him.

Hesitantly, he took her outstretched and shook it, his eyes quickly darting to her face, “Deal. We good?”

“Yeah, we’re good.”

Anxious to move on Daryl changed the subject, “Go ‘head an’ sit down. Here’s a rifle..."

Madison cut him off with a question, "Sorry, it's just…you really want me to take this? You know I can't shoot, right?"

"At all? How're ya still alive?"

"You sound like my dad, he was a cop. He had me shooting at targets and taking self-defense classes since I was little. I just never got the hang of guns, I know how to use them; I just can't aim worth crap. He was convinced I'd die because of it. Somewhere he's laughing and saying 'I told you so'."

"Rick an' Shane're plannin' a gun trainin' class in a day or so, but I can teach ya if ya want; less time with Shane," Daryl offered.

"That would be great, but I'm serious. I'm hopeless."

"Nah, ya jus' ain't had the right teacher yet," he said giving her a quick grin, "Fer now take it, jus' in case. If the farm’s as safe as they say ya won't need it. I think it’s overkill t’have two of us up ‘ere.”

“I think Shane was trying to prove a point; he’s the boss,” Madison suggested as she took the gun and the seat in the lawn chair Daryl offered her.

He hummed in agreement. “I’m curious,” he pressed, sitting on the raised vent casing in the center of the roof next to Madison’s chair, “'e said some terrible things too, ya gonna give 'im a tongue lashin’ like ya did me?”

Madison glanced over at him, worried that he wasn’t as all right with her speech as she originally thought, but his expression let her know he was messing with her and she relaxed, “To be honest I thought about it, but it wouldn’t do any good. I want to say or do something, but I don’t know what it would be.”

“Here’s what ya do: Shane’s gonna try an’ make yer life a livin' hell; ignorin' yer suggestions, assignin' ya the crappy tasks, jus' bein' Shane." A small giggle escaped Madison's lips, encouraged by her reaction Daryl continued, "'e ain't gonna stop bein' a prick, so when 'e screws with ya, ya gotta screw with 'im right back. Be friendly t'im an’ happy 'round 'im. The worse the job, the more ya love it. Won't make a bit a difference, won’t fix nothin’, but it'll sure piss 'im off."

"Well I love the sound of that! I'll start tomorrow by telling him how great watch was tonight. That should really get to him."

Before he could stop himself, Daryl suggested, "Or ya tell 'im it was awful an' maybe 'e puts us on watch together more." He froze. ‘What’d’ya say that fer, dummy?’ he silently chastised himself, his face turning red.

Madison grinned like a schoolgirl at Daryl’s words, even though she knew it was silly. She took the time to carefully consider her response, knowing full well that saying the wrong thing would make the man beside her spook and run. “I could say that, but you’d get sick of me after a while.” They shared an uncomfortable laugh, eyes forward, searching for any movement beyond the fences.

Madison had always been a fidgeter, whenever she was tired, bored, or nervous especially nervous, she would fidget with whatever she was holding. Right now she was all three and she found herself fidgeting with the rifle in her hands. She immediately laid it down next to her knowing better than to tempt fate by keeping it near her hands. She reached into her pocket and pulled out something else to keep her hands busy. Her movement caught Daryl’s attention; he watched her flipping something in her hand end over end against her thigh, but he couldn’t make out what it was. Curiosity got the best of him and without warning he reached over and took it from her, “What’re ya messin’ ‘round with?” In the dim light it took him a little while to identify the unfamiliar object in his hand as a smart phone. He’d never used one, never even held one, but he had seen his fair share; he hated the things. “Maddie, why the hell are ya still holdin’ on t’this worthless piece of garbage. It don’t work anymore, in case ya didn’t notice,” he made a move like he was going to toss it like a Frisbee, “Could chuck it in the air like this an’ use it fer target practice I guess, ‘bout all it’s good fer.”

“No, give it back,” she went to yank it out of his hand, but he was too fast for her and pulled it away. She shot him an irritated look and lunged for her phone again this time coming halfway out of her chair, bracing herself with her right hand on his left arm and stretching her body across his trying to reach her phone.

Amused by her efforts he extended his arm and held the phone out to his side at full arm’s length, well beyond her reach. In this position their faces were no more than three or four inches apart so he whispered to her, his voice low, “Madison,” his blue eyes caught her brown and held them there, “Why d’ya care ‘bout it s'much? It’s jus’ a phone.”

For a moment she couldn’t move, his piercing eyes held her in a trance as he tried to make sense of her unusual behavior. “It’s stupid, you won’t get it,” she answered in a breathy whisper before forcing herself away from him.

“Try me,” his voice no longer a whisper, but still soft, like when he spoke to Carol earlier and it sent a shiver down Madison’s spine.

“You see a useless old cell phone, but I see the last tangible evidence of life before the turn. It’s not the phone itself; it’s what’s on it. I have music and family photos on it, a few books even. One day I hope to find a car charger or some way of charging the battery and when I do it will be like opening a time capsule. I know how foolish it sounds, but what's on this phone and others like it is what will, one day, help rebuild our culture so we don’t have to start from scratch. I guess that’s the history teacher in me talking,” Madison finished with a humorless laugh.

“Dammit,” Daryl sighed handing her back her phone, “Can’t make fun of ya fer that.”

“Sorry to ruin your fun,” she apologized with mock sincerity, sliding her phone back in her pocket.

A comfortable silence fell between the pair as they pulled their attention from each other and looked out to the land in front of them. For the first time since everything changed Madison felt safe, truly safe. The peaceful sounds of a country evening and sheer exhaustion soon had her fighting to keep her eyes open. After she stifled yawn after yawn Daryl finally turned to her, “Jus’ lay down an’ sleep. Don’t take both of us t'watch air.”

“No, I’m okay,” she said through a yawn, “I fell asleep on watch last night and this morning Ally was dead.”

“That ain’t on you.”

Madison shrugged his comment off, “Tell me something about you I don't know,"

He started to protest, "Why d'ya care?"

"Because you know more about me than anyone ever needs to and I can count the things I know about you one hand," she held up her hand and counted fingers to prove her point as she continued, "Your name's Daryl. Your big brother was a jerk growing up. You've got a really short temper. You've got my back, even when I piss you off. Please Daryl, help me stay awake."

"Make y'a deal; I'll answer three questions if ya promise t'close yer eyes an' rest fer fifteen minutes. Y'ain't gotta lay down, y'ain't gotta sleep, jus' rest. Got it?"

She perked up immediately and nodded enthusiastically, "What's your last name?"

Daryl shook his head at her and laughed, “Really? That’s what ya wanna ask me? I give ya three questions an’ ya blow one on somethin’ ya coulda asked anyone in camp? It’s Dixon.”

“Now wait a second, I didn’t know there were rules! Come on, that doesn’t count,” Madison pleaded, giving him her best sad puppy eyes.

“That ain’t gonna work on me, missy. Two more.”

“Fine,” she sulked, arms folded as she thought of her next question, “What happened to your brother?”

Daryl’s face fell and he looked down at his hands, picking at the dirt under his nails, “My brother, ‘e’s, uh, ‘e’s gone. ‘e’s jus’ gone. Rick an’ some of the others were in Atlanta lookin’ fer supplies an’ my brother was with ‘em; prob’ly high as a kite, knowin’ Merle. 'e started yellin’ an' threatenin’ e’erybody an' Rick handcuffed ‘im t'a roof, they dropped the key, made sure no walkers could get at ‘im an' they left ‘im there. We went back the next day an’ Merle was gone, sawed off 'is own damn hand t’get free. Don’t know where 'e is or if 'e’s still ‘live.”

“Oh, I had no idea, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have asked…”

“Ya got one more,” he tersely cut her off, not wanting to be pitied.

“All right. What do you miss the most from before?”

“Yer jus' a lil' freakin’ ray of sunshine, ain’t ya?” Leaning back he propped himself up on his elbows and stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankles and said with a dark chuckle, “If I’m bein’ honest, nothin’.”

“You’re serious? Nothing? Not your parents or your friends? House? Job? Girlfriend? Not having every day be a struggle between life and death?”

“Nope. Nothin’,” Daryl thoughtfully answered, careful not to share too much or look in Madison’s direction, “‘Cause nothin’ much ‘as changed fer me. Parents’re worthless drunks an’ not worth missin’, closest thing t’a friend I had was Merle, no girl, Dale’s RV’s nicer than where I grew up. Life’s always been a life or death struggle, only thing’s changed is I’m fightin’ the dead ‘stead of the livin’.”

His words hung in the air as he prepared himself for Madison’s response. He was expecting condolences and hollow words of comfort, but was taken off guard when she opened her mouth to speak and simply stated, “I hope one day you find something worth missing,” giving him a soft smile before looking forward again.

Daryl could only respond with a quiet grunt and, studying her in the moonlight, he thought to himself, ‘Maybe I finally have.’ Returning to his senses he spoke, “‘kay, deal’s a deal. Ya got yer questions, fifteen minutes of rest. Go.”

“No, I’m fine. That woke me up, I’m good to go.”

“Maddie, y'ain’t getting outta this. Fifteen minutes.”

With a reluctant sigh she settled into a more comfortable position in the chair and closed her eyes, “You’ll let me know when the fifteen minutes are up?”

“Mmmhmm.”

The next thing she knew Daryl was shaking her awake, “C’mon, it’s morning. Get up.”

“You let me sleep? What happened to fifteen minutes? How long was I out?”

“‘Course I let ya sleep, that was the plan from the start. Don’t worry, y’were only out two hours max.”

Still half asleep she rubbed her kinked neck as she stood up, dropping the blanket she’d been covered with. “How did this get here?” she asked picking it up and folding the blanket before setting it in the chair.

Daryl was halfway down the ladder at this point when he shrugged, “Y'were shivierin’ last night.”

Madison smiled to herself as she followed him down the ladder. Her foot slipped off the bottom rung and she fell the last foot or two off the ladder to the ground. Daryl braced her when she landed and kept her from falling over, but the impact of the fall jarred her body, sending shooting pains through her back. She winced and held on to the ladder with all her strength until the pain passed.

“Ya’lright?” Daryl asked from behind her, his hands still supporting her and helping her stay upright. She nodded weakly and he leaned forward, his voice low, and whispered in her ear, “How many of 'em pills ya taken?”

“None,” the pain had passed and she released the ladder and turned to face Daryl, “I’m rationing them; if that’s all there is, I have to make them last. I hid them in my tent so no one would find them and start asking questions.”

“I gave ‘em t’ya fer a reason,” he snapped, “March yer butt t'yer tent an’ take the damn pills.”

“Yes sir,” she mumbled, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Once inside her tent she pulled out the bottle of pills and took only one, not knowing what the dosage was or how her body would react to them if they were as strong as Daryl made them sound. Grabbing her satchel of food she left her tent looking for Dale so she could give it to him. He was nowhere to be found, but she saw Carol hanging clothes and decided to give it to her instead.

“What’ve you got there?” Carol greeting her with a smile.

“It’s not much, but it’s the food supply Ally and I had. I thought I’d add it with the rest of the group’s. I meant to give it to someone yesterday, but…”

“But you had other things on your mind. I know the feeling. Why don’t you set your bag down on the table in the RV and we can decide what to do with everything later?”

Madison ran the food into the RV and when she came out she saw Lori had emerged and was now talking to Carol. Madison joined the other two women and heard Carol suggest to Lori, “Maybe we all pitch in and cook dinner for Hershel and his family tonight. Kind of looking for things to keep my mind occupied.”

“After everything they’ve done for us, it seems like the least we could do,” Lori agreed.

“If you’re looking for an extra set of hands I’d love to pitch in and say thanks to the Greene’s. I never thought I’d get the opportunity to really cook again,” Madison chimed in, unable to control her excitement.

“We’ll take all the help we can get, thanks,” Lori replied.

“Awesome, I can’t wait,” Madison beamed. “You two need help with this?” she asked, gesturing to the pile of wet clothes.

“No, we can manage. Besides, we’re just finishing up what you started yesterday. You did the bulk of it,” Carol kindly insisted.

“All right, give a shout if you change your mind. And let me know when you need help getting dinner started,” Madison commented, leaving the two women to their task. Not knowing what to do with herself she wandered over to the car that served as command central in the search for Sophia. She was looking at the map when a man’s voice came out of nowhere, making her jump, “Y’ain’t thinkin’ of goin' out lookin’ fer ‘er, are ya?”

She whipped around to find Daryl standing next to her with a proud grin on his face, “You jerk! Sneaking up behind me like that!” He chuckled and she slapped his arm, “To answer your question, I was thinking about it. You’re heading out, I guess?” He nodded. “Just make sure you’re back before dark, we’re going to cook a big dinner for the Greene’s to thank them for everything they’ve done.”

“Wouldn’t miss it fer the world.”

Rick and Shane strode to the car, closely followed by Andrea and T-Dog. “All right, everyone’s getting new search grids today,” Rick announced, getting down to business. “If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl found, she might’ve gone further east than we’ve been so far.”

Shane was getting in the passenger side of the car and shook his head at the mention of Daryl’s name and his discovery the day before. Madison nudged Daryl and nodded in Shane’s direction, silently pointing out his reaction to the man beside her. While she had been pointing out Shane’s reaction, Jimmy, Hershel’s youngest daughter’s boyfriend, had joined the group saying he wanted to help search and that Hershel was okay with it. Rick gladly accepted the extra help.

“Madison, what about you? Are you comin’ with us? Rick asked.

“I’d like to help if I can.”

Rick looked past Madison to Daryl who shook his head slightly, “You know what, on second thought, I think the best thing is for you to stay here. It’s great that you want to help, but let’s get you feelin' better first.”

Madison whipped her head around mouthed to Daryl, “What did you say to him?” Daryl shrugged and looked away from the angry girl next to him.

“Nothin’ about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me, anyone could’ve been holed up in that farmhouse,” Shane spoke up, sourly expressing his opinion.

Daryl leaned in to Madison and whispered, “What’d I tell ya? Livin' hell.” Madison nodded. “Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high,” Daryl addressed the group, defending his findings.

“It’s a good lead,” Andrea reassured him.

“Maybe we’ll pick up her trail again,” Rick added.

“No maybe ‘bout it, I’m gonna borrow a horse, head up to this ridge up here, take a bird’s-eye view of the whole grid. If she’s up there, I’ll spot ‘er,” Daryl explained his thought process to the group.

“That’s a smart plan,” Madison murmured.

“Good idea,” T-Dog chimed in, “Maybe you’ll see your chupacabra up there too.”

“Chupacabra?” Rick and Madison asked at the same time.

“You never heard this? Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time when he went squirrel hunting and he saw a chupacabra," Dale explained, joining the group by the car.

“When I was a teen some friends and I went camping and I swear on a stack of bibles I saw a sasquatch. They didn’t believe me, but I know what I saw,” Madison confessed. This was all too much for Jimmy and he started laughing.

“What’re ya brayin’ at, jackass?” Daryl fumed, taking offense for both himself and Madison.

“You believe in a blood-suckin’ dog?” Rick asked.

“D’ya believe dead people walking 'round,” Daryl spat at the sheriff.

Jimmy reached for the shotgun by Rick. “Hey, hey. Ever fire one before?” Rick asked, taking it out of his hands.

“Well, if I’m going out, I want one,” Jimmy countered.

“Yeah, an’ people in hell want Slurpee’s,” Daryl shot at Jimmy, still angry at him for laughing, as he stormed towards the stables.

Madison caught up with him, “What did you tell Rick?”

“Didn’t say nothin’, jus’ shook my head,” he answered as he kept walking, temper still high.

“But why? Don’t you want to find Sophia? The more the better in these cases, right?”

He stopped and turned around, taking a deep breath to try and calm down before he spoke, “Not if the ‘more’ is injured an’ refusin’ t’rest an’ heal. Maddie, stay here. Sleep. Fix that big dinner yer so excited fer. Sooner ya heal, the sooner ya can help more.”

Seeing the logic behind his argument, Madison conceded, “Fine. Go find her, but come back in one piece, okay?”

Caught off guard by her concern for his safety, he could only nod to her before they turned and went their separate ways.

With nothing else to do and the majority of the group out looking for Sophia, Madison took Daryl’s instructions to heart and went to her tent and laid down. Within seconds she was asleep. She woke up hours later to the sound of voices in the camp, signaling that people were returning from their search. Stiff, she rose and joined the rest of the group. She saw Carol and Lori head towards the farmhouse, no doubt to start the dinner. Before following them she scanned the camp, looking for Daryl, but saw no sign of him. She ran into Dale as she made her way to the farmhouse. “Hey, is Daryl around?” she asked the older gentleman.

“Why, you going to yell at him some more?” Dale teased, “I’m sorry I haven’t seen him, I’m sure he picked up a trail and lost track of time. You know how he is when he gets tracking. How did watch go last night?”

“You were right, he did surprise me,” she answered truthfully. “I’d better go help with dinner,” she excused herself.

Madison let herself in to the house without knocking, thinking it would be all right since the Greene’s were expecting the group members inside. She immediately regretted her decision when she heard the end of Hershel’s conversation with Maggie. ‘Why do I have this knack for overhearing things I shouldn’t?’ she asked herself.

“Don’t get close to them. They’re not goin' to be around forever,” she heard Hershel tell his daughter. A sinking feeling hit her in the pit of her stomach; the farm wasn’t going to be the safe haven the group thought it was. Hershel left the dining room and saw Madison by the door, “How’re the ribs?”

“Better, much better, thanks to you,” she said as warmly as she could manage.

“Good,” was Hershel’s one word reply and he left to go upstairs and Madison went into the dining room to join the others in the kitchen, but she was caught by Maggie.

“Can I get you to help me set the table?” Maggie asked.

“Sure can.”

Maggie looked to the kitchen to make sure the others weren’t listening, “Can you keep a secret?”

“Better than most,” Madison assured her.

“Glenn and I had sex at the pharmacy durin’ the run yesterday,” the younger woman blurted out, handing Madison a stack of plates.

“You’re joking? How did it happen? Why did it happen? I mean don’t get me wrong, Glenn seems like a great guy and he is kind of cute but…”

“I know. It makes no sense. I don’t even know if I like him, but my dad doesn’t like that Glenn and I are...friends so…”

“It makes you want to do it again?” Madison finished Maggie’s thought.

Maggie looked at Madison with a mischievous grin on her face, “Exactly.” The two women laughed until the sound of a gunshot rang out and all went silent in the house.

Lori was the first to speak, rushing from the kitchen towards the front door, “Was that a gun? Where did it come from?”

Hershel ran down the stairs, “What happened? Is everyone all right?” He asked looking at his daughters to make sure they were safe.

Everyone in the house scrambled outside and ran in the direction of the gunshot. Madison was trying to convince herself that it was just someone taking out a walker or that Shane started the gun training early and didn’t take it far enough off Hershel’s property. She tried hard to believe the stories she was feeding herself, but there was an undeniable knot in her stomach telling her that something was seriously wrong. Her worst fears were confirmed as they got closer to camp and saw Andrea and Dale running across the field and she could hear Andrea yelling, “Is he dead?"

Madison’s heart stopped as the group of men got closer and she could identify the bloodied, limp form Rick and Shane were carrying. Her hands flew to her mouth and stifled a scream, “No, no, no, no, please no! Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead, oh please don’t be dead!”

Maggie came and stood beside her new friend and put her arm around Madison, “Who is it? I can’t tell.”

"It’s Daryl,” Madison gasped.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After struggling with the last chapter, this one just flowed so easily. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for indulging me. Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Same as before, I don't own TWD, I just own Madison.

Madison broke free from Maggie’s arm and ran across Hershel’s field towards the approaching group, confirming up close what she already knew, that it was in fact Daryl that Rick and Shane were carrying. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the amount of blood covering him from head to toe. She knew it was bad when she saw him from a distance, but up close it was like staring at a nightmare. He was completely limp, feet training behind him as the two men carried him. “What happened to him? Is he dead?” she asked, echoing Andrea.

“He’s alive, he’s just unconscious. He’s lost a lot of blood,” Glenn answered her, putting his hand on her shoulder, guiding her forward, keeping pace with the group.

Madison nodded, relieved to know that, for now, Daryl was still alive, “But what happened?”

“I shot him,” Andrea weakly replied, still coming to terms with what she’d done, “I shot Daryl.”

“You what? What were you thinking? What’s the matter with you?” Madison screamed at the blonde, demanding answers.

“I thought he was a walker, I mean, look at him!” Andrea tried to rationalize her actions. 

“I am looking at him, Andrea! I am looking at him and...what...what’s that around his neck?” Madison inquired, directing everyone’s attention to Daryl’s neck, certain her eyes were playing tricks on her.

“Look at him. What the hell happened? He’s wearing ears,” Glenn pointed out.

Rick looked down at the unconscious man he was holding. “Let’s keep that to ourselves,” he quietly ordered, ripping the ears from Daryl’s neck and cramming them in his shirt pocket before their host could see.

“Guys,” T-Dog called out, “Isn’t this Sophia’s?” He held up a doll that had fallen when Daryl hit the ground, the group stopped and turned to see what he’d found.

“Yeah, that’s Sophia’s all right,” Dale confirmed and everyone continued walking towards the farmhouse.

“What on earth happened?” Hershel asked in shock when they brought Daryl close enough for the older man to see him.

“Andrea shot him,” Madison coldly replied, staring daggers at Andrea as she spoke.

“I thought he was a walker, I was protecting the camp,” Andrea fired back, fed up with being blamed for everything that had happened to Daryl. “Look at him, he’s covered with blood. That’s not all from me, Madison.”

“No, I’m sorry Andrea, you’re right. It’s not all your doing, just the gunshot to the head,” Madison retorted.

“It only grazed him!”

“You guys think he got bit?” T-Dog ventured, hesitant to ask the question he was sure was on everyone’s mind, but no one wanted to ask.

Shane stopped moving forward and glanced down at Daryl’s back and saw a gaping wound, “Something got him all right. Look, if he’s been bit we can’t just take him inside and wait for him to turn. I know he’s one of us, but we gotta think of the greater good right now.”

“Do you really think Daryl would come back here and put us all at risk if he’d been bitten? He’s not that reckless,” Dale reasoned with the ex-sheriff.

“Not that reckless, huh? Listen, we can’t take any chances,” Shane stated matter of factly, getting more agitated by the second.

“What are you suggesting, Shane? Are you saying we put a bullet in his brain without even knowing for sure if one of those things got him?” Madison challenged.

“Don't do that; don't go puttin' words in my mouth. I never said that, but I am sayin' that we gotta look out for the group. I’m sayin' we take precautions; that we do what needs to be done.”

Madison stepped in front of Shane and was met with his frantic, cold stare. “You’re saying you’re all right with murdering a man on a hunch. Look. He’s got an exit wound. I’ve never seen a walker bite go through someone. Get away from him,” she shoved Shane aside, causing him to drop Daryl’s arm. She put Daryl’s arm around her neck with some difficulty. “Let’s get him inside,” she commanded, swallowing the pain his weight caused her.

When they reached the porch steps Glenn took Madison’s place, knowing she wouldn’t be able to get Daryl up the stairs, even with Rick’s help. Hershel led the way to the room where he’d treat Daryl. Lori and Madison followed closely behind Glenn and Rick with Shane bringing up the rear. Halfway up the flight of stairs, Glenn tripped and fell, jarring Daryl’s injured side. The sudden movement sent a shock of pain through Daryl’s body and he came to, yelling, “Geez, Glenn! That hurt like a bitch!”

Tears of relief stung Madison’s eyes and she quickly blinked them away, but not before Lori saw them. She reached out and gave Madison’s hand a comforting squeeze as they reached the second floor landing.

“Daryl, you well enough to tell us about that doll you found?” Rick questioned.

“Hell yeah.”

“Good,” Rick responded, “Shane?” He looked to his former partner and gestured with his head for Shane to follow them into the room. Madison was about to follow the men into the room when Shane stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder, “I think it’s best if you stay out here, give him room to breathe.”

She knocked his hand away, “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

“I’m sorry Madison, but he’s right. This isn’t as big of a room as Carl’s; I need the space to work. I’ll come and get you when you can see him,” Hershel assured her.

She returned Shane’s self-satisfied grin with an icy glare and nodded to Hershel. “Please take care of him,” she whispered. Before leaving she took one long look at Daryl sitting on the edge of the bed, bloodied and bruised, slapping away Glenn’s helpful hands as he struggled through the pain of trying to pull his tank over his head. Glenn held up his hands in surrender and left the room. Daryl seemed different than when he left this morning, Madison could feel the anger radiating off of him. He looked up at her and they locked eyes for a fraction of a second before he looked away and laid down on the bed, turning his back to her. Her heart ached for him when, despite the anger he was clearly feeling, she saw sadness in his eyes; he’d been broken out there in the woods.

Hershel handed him a rag to hold to his head wound to stem the bleeding. He took it and briefly looked over his shoulder to see Madison still in the doorway, “Ugh, someone get ‘er outta here, will ya?” Hershel walked to the door and with an apologetic shake of his head closed the door on her.

Madison stood staring at the closed door, she understood why Hershel had shut her out, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. What she didn’t understand was what she’d done to make Daryl push her away like that; why he suddenly couldn’t stand being in the same room as her or why he wouldn’t even look at her.

“Don’t take it too hard, all men are alike and they don’t want their women to see them weak. Daryl’s no exception,” Lori spoke softly, practically reading Madison’s mind, “Don’t worry, it’ll pass.”

Madison was surprised to see Lori still in the hallway, with a half-smile and a humorless chuckle she asked, “You think I’m Daryl’s woman?”

“The way he’s stepped up and looked out for you since the moment you got here, yeah. Yeah I do.”

Madison shook her head at the absurdity of Lori’s statement. Daryl Dixon didn’t strike her as the kind of man to have a woman, especially one he’d known for less than forty-eight hours. He was used to being alone and probably felt he was better off that way. “Lori, thank you, but you don’t have to stay. I’m sure they need you downstairs.”

“You shouldn’t have to be alone right now. Besides, I want to make sure he’s okay too,” Lori quietly replied.

“Thanks,” Madison muttered, taking a seat in the lone chair in the hallway, the strain of carrying Daryl taking its toll.

“Don’t mention it.” Lori groaned, sinking to the floor across from Madison. A few moments passed before Lori spoke again, “Shane told me about you checking in on Carl last night.“ Madison froze, she couldn’t handle getting yelled at for that again, not right now. “He seemed to think it was this awful thing that a stranger was alone with Carl. I want you to know that Rick and I appreciate you caring, and I want to apologize for Shane.”

“I didn’t mean to cross any lines; I just didn’t want that poor, sick, little boy to be alone more than he had to be.”

“I know.”

“Shane has some anger issues.”

“I know,” Lori chuckled. “He wasn’t always like that,” she finished sadly.

Madison reached forward and squeezed Lori’s hand, “I’m sure he wasn’t.” The conversation died as both women got lost in their own thoughts and concerns. Each passing minute felt like an hour to Madison as she waited, but when the door opened and Rick and Shane stepped out it felt like only seconds has passed since Hershel shut the door in her face. She stood and looked to Rick, worry clearly etched on her face, “Well? How is he?”

Rick placed a gentle hand on her forearm and gave her a reassuring smile. “He’ll be all right," he answered, looking between Madison and Lori. "Hershel’s finishin' up and he’ll come out and get you when you can see him," he informed Madison.

Tears sprang to her eyes again, "He's going to be okay?" Rick nodded. Relief took control and Madison threw her arms around Rick. "Oh thank God," she cried. Then it dawned on her that she was hugging Lori's husband, a practical stranger. "Sorry," she exclaimed releasing Rick and taking a step back. "Sorry," she repeated, looking at Lori and returning to her seat, her cheeks bright red.

Lori and Rick chuckled and briefly embraced before Rick set off down the hall to attend to other matters, coming to a stop when Shane spoke, “I hate to say it, but I’m with Hershel on this one. Can’t keep goin’ out there, not after this.”

“You’d quit now? Daryl just risked his life to bring back the first hard evidence we’ve had,” Rick demanded, his agitation apparent.

“That’s one way to look at it. The way I see it, Daryl almost died today for a doll,” Shane scoffed.

“Yeah, I know how you see it,” Rick spat as he stormed away.

“How can you trivialize what Daryl did today like that?” she knew the conversation had nothing to do with her, but Madison couldn’t stay silent.

Looking like a wounded animal, Shane tried to backpedal and explain himself to save face in front of Lori, “I’m not out to be a hard case, just being realistic.” He took a few steps down the hallway before lowering his voice and continuing, “He’s just gotta start making the tough calls. You know I’m right.”

The door to Daryl’s room creaked open and Hershel stepped out into the hallway, “Madison, can I speak to you for a moment.”

She jumped to her feet, eager for more news about Daryl, but also anxious to get away from Shane and his rantings against Rick’s leadership. “How’s he doing?”

“He’ll be fine; he needs to take it easy the next few days, but he’ll be back on his feet by tomorrow. He’s got some cuts and scrapes, but nothin' to be concerned with, it’s a miracle nothin' was broken after the fall he took. I’ve stitched him up; the bullet just grazed his temple and his side will heal with time, yankin' that arrow out like he did caused quite a bit of damage.”

Madison’s eyes went wide, “Wait, wait, wait, fall? Arrow? What happened out there?”

“He asked me not to say too much, well perhaps threatened is the better word. Anythin' else you want to know, you’d better ask him.”

She nodded, “Can I see him? I mean, does he mind if I…”

“I gave him somethin' for the pain and they seem to have knocked him out. He’s sleepin' right now, but you can go in if you want to. I see no harm in that.”

Without thinking she embraced Hershel. “Thank you,” she whispered, “For everything. For taking care of Daryl, for taking care of me, Carl, T-Dog. For letting us stay here, no matter how short the time. We owe you our lives. Just...thank you.”

Hershel hesitantly returned her hug, “You’re welcome.” Madison released the older man and quietly slipped into Daryl’s room and slowly closed the door behind her, doing her best not to wake him.

Once inside Madison tip-toed over to the bed to see for herself what Hershel was talking about. Now that he wasn’t caked in blood and dirt she could see the cuts that covered him, especially his hands and arms. She could see the bandage on his back where she assumed the arrow Hershel mentioned pierced him, though she couldn’t see the other bandage with the way his blankets were pulled up. A clean, white bandage encircled his head; no blood had seeped through meaning the bleeding was under control for now. “Oh Daryl, what happened to you out there?” she whispered, extending her hand to stroke his hair. She stopped herself before she made contact, remembering that he didn’t want her around earlier. She quietly walked around the bed and sat in the chair near the bed on the other side of the room. She wanted to be there for him, asleep or not, though truth be told she was worried about his reaction if he woke up and saw her there.

She had no idea how long she was sitting in that chair, the only sound in the room was Daryl’s deep, slow breathing. He looked younger while asleep, without the strain and anxiety brought on by this new world written on his rugged face. She shifted in the chair, flinging her legs over the arm and leaning against the back, looking out the window. The sun was setting letting her know she’d been there at least an hour, maybe two. She wrapped her arms around herself and hummed quietly, allowing herself to get lost in the beautiful sunset and enjoy the security the farm offered while she could.

Daryl blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of his surroundings, as he woke up. He heard the soft sound of humming and he focused his eyes past the nightstand to where the humming was coming from and saw Madison sitting in the chair looking out the window. She was bathed in a golden-red glow from the setting sun’s rays with a pensive look on her face. He was still asleep enough to allow himself a moment to appreciate how beautiful she was before he came to his senses and shut those thoughts down. “Maddie,” he softly spoke, his voice and eyelids still heavy with sleep, “How long ya been here?”

She jumped at the unexpected sound of his voice and returned to a traditional sitting position. Running her fingers through her short hair, pushing the stray strands of red away from her face, she replied, “Um, I really don’t know. An hour or two, I guess. I was only here in case you woke up and needed something. I’ll get out of your hair now and let Hershel know you’re awake.” 

She stood up and walked past his side of the bed as she made her way to the door. Daryl reached out and caught hold of her hand, “Ya don’t gotta go."

"Earlier you were very clear that you didn't want me around."

"Man can change 'is mind, can't ‘e?"

“I suppose, but you’re giving me whiplash with all this back and forth crap.” Daryl opened his mouth to respond but Madison continued before he could get a word out. “You’re bleeding through your bandage. Hang on,” she directed as she walked over to the bandages Hershel left on the dresser.

“What the hell d’ya think yer doin’? Y'ain’t a doctor,” Daryl exclaimed, flinching away from her when she reached for him, fresh bandages in hand.

She sighed, “You’re right, but I spent enough miserable summers at Girl Scout camp to learn basic first aid.” She rolled her eyes at his skeptical expression before adding, “Either I can take care of you or I can go get Hershel and have him do it, do you want me to get him?”

Daryl considered his options. “No,” he conceded, “Ol’ man’s pissed at me fer takin’ ‘is stupid horse.”

“You stole his horse? Never mind, I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. Scooch.” He complied and she sat down next to him on the bed, “Can you sit up?”

He pulled himself to a seated position, wincing through the pain. Madison fought the urge to help him, remembering how he had refused Glenn’s help earlier. Once he was settled she scooted closer so she could inspect his head. He watched her through narrowed eyes as she gently started unwrapping the bandage, “Will you relax? I can change a simple bandage. I know what I’m doing. You need to learn to trust people, you know that?”

His face softened and he relaxed at her touch, “I know how t’trust, I jus’ know trust don’t come free, it’s gotta be earned. Most don’t earn it.”

“Fair enough,” she agreed as she placed the fresh bandage over the soiled one. She’d always been told not to remove an old bandage when redressing a wound or you risked reopening it and causing more damage; she’d let Hershel be the one to remove the first bandage so she wouldn’t damage the stitches underneath. She stole a quick glance at Daryl’s face only to find his eyes trained on her. She looked away and focused on rewrapping his head, trying hard to keep her hands from shaking. Sitting so close to him made her giddy and nervous in a way she hadn’t been since she was a teenager, and his intense stare wasn’t helping matters. “Alight, you’re all set,” she said with a smile.

He squinted and looked up as if he could see her work and returned her smile with a smirk of his own, “Not bad.” She didn’t want to move, but now that she was done there was no reason for her to stay sitting next to him. She was about to stand when Daryl spoke again, keeping her where she was, “Earlier Hershel, ‘e, uh, ‘e told me ‘bout Shane thinkin’ I’s bit an’ ya standin’ up fer me. Pissin’ ‘im off more wasn’t the plan.”

Madison looked at him, his face softer than she’d ever seen it, his body relaxed, leaning back against the headboard, and shrugged, “Plans change. He would’ve shot you.”

“Ya didn’t have t’do that, any of it. This,” he gestured to his head.

“It comes with the whole sticking together thing we talked about last night.”

He lowered his gaze and focused on the scratches covering his hands mulling his next comment over in his mind. He took a deep breath and said in a barely audible whisper, “Almost didn’t save ya in the woods yesterday, almost walked away.” Madison was taken aback by Daryl’s confession, but didn’t react and waited for him to continue. “I’s lookin’ fer Sophia an’ heard ya screamin’ an’ thought y'were ‘er; that’s why I came runnin’. Thought ‘bout leavin’ when it weren’t ‘er; leavin’ ya t'draw other nearby walkers t'ya an’ away from me an' ‘er. Almost left ya t’die.”

She was shocked by his revelation, but not angry or hurt; in fact she was oddly touched by his desire to be honest with her. “But you didn’t,” she softly replied. He shrugged away her comment, still staring at his hands. “Daryl, look at me. You didn’t walk away and that’s all that matters. Almost doesn’t count. What counts is what we do in the end, and you saved me. You   
saved me when you didn’t have to, that’s what counts. Why are you telling me this?”

Daryl shrugged again before he finally looked up at her, still refusing to hold eye contact, “Ya said ya trusted me, didn’t seem right ya trustin' a man without knowin’ the truth ‘bout ‘im.”

“I already knew the truth. I was saved by a selfless stranger in the woods. The only thing that’s changed is now I know the backstory and I respect him even more for his honesty,” she assured him, taking his large hand in both of hers, praying that he would believe her words. “You should eat something, keep your strength up. I’ll be right back with some food, okay?” She squeezed his hand before standing up.

“Thanks Maddie,” he said quietly, obviously relieved that his confession hadn’t driven her away.

She nodded and smiled at him, “You’re a good man, Daryl Dixon. The best in camp by far from what I’ve seen. Stop looking for reasons to tear yourself down.” Madison slipped out of the door and left Daryl to ponder her words. He eased himself back to a horizontal position, chewing on his bottom lip as her words ran on repeat in his mind. No one had ever told him he was a good man before, no one had ever said they respected him before, and he had a hard time believing that she could be telling the truth; however, more than anything he wanted the chance to prove her right.

Madison walked into the dining room to find Maggie and Carol clearing the table, “Oh no, am I too late? I was going to grab a plate for Daryl. Was there anything left over?”

“Was there anythin' left over?” Maggie laughed, “We have enough leftovers to last us ‘til New Year’s. Have you eaten?” Madison shook her head and Maggie called to her little sister in the kitchen, “Hey, Beth? Before you put everythin' away, will you make up two more plates? Madison hasn’t eaten and she wants to take somethin’ up for Daryl. How’s he doin’?” Maggie asked, looking to Madison again.

“About as well as can be expected. He’s awake so that’s good, but he looks like he could sleep for a week solid.”

“We’ve all been so worried,” Carol chimed in.

‘You’ve got a funny way of showing it,’ Madison thought to herself, irritated with Carol once again for her lack of action. No one else had tried to check on Daryl the whole time she was up there with him and now Carol was professing everyone’s concern. “Everyone except Shane,” she fumed.

“He wouldn’t really have shot him, would he?” Maggie asked, lowering her voice.

“No, of course not,” Carol replied.

Madison shook her head, “I don’t know. I really think he might have, you didn’t see the look in his eyes.” As she spoke she looked out the window to make sure Shane wasn’t within earshot and instead saw Andrea leaning on the railing, sulking on the porch, “Listen, I have to go talk to Andrea. I need to apologize, I feel terrible about earlier. I’ll just be a second and then I’ll run Daryl’s food upstairs. Thanks.”

She moved to the door and paused, composing herself before stepping outside to try and make amends with Andrea. Madison knew she was in the wrong, but that didn’t change the fact that she was still furious with Andrea for pulling the trigger. Logically she understood why Andrea did what she did and probably would’ve done the same thing herself in Andrea’s shoes, but Madison was not in a logical frame of mind. She was too exhausted to deal with this and she just wanted to get back upstairs to Daryl. With a deep breath Madison opened the door and walked outside, “Hey Andrea.”

The blonde looked back at Madison, shook her head in frustration and returned her gaze to the fields, “Come to yell at me some more?”

Madison sighed, knowing this apology would be harder than she thought, “Not exactly. I, well, I wanted to apologize. I was out of line earlier and I’m sorry.”

Andrea looked over her shoulder at Madison, determining if she was being sincere or not, “It’s not like I did it on purpose, you know. I don’t go around using friends as target practice.”

“I know. I never thought you did,” Madison admitted, taking few steps to stand by Andrea and joining her at the railing. “I guess you could say it’s been a fairly traumatic forty-eight hours and I’m not handling it very well. What I don’t understand is why you took the shot when Rick and the others had it covered?”

“I wanted to prove I could do it. I wanted to prove that I could do something. Everyone has been handling me with kid gloves since my kid sister died and I wanted to prove that I’m more than a dead girl’s sister.”

“I’m so sorry Andrea,” Madison responded, her voice cracking, “I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, it’s crippling. What was her name?”

“Amy,” Andrea answer, fighting tears of her own, “When you said you lost your sister I was grateful to have someone else here who understands. For a while I wanted to give up.”

“But we know that’s not what they’d want for us. They’d want us to keep fighting, for as long as we can.”

Andrea nodded and wiped away a tear, changing the subject, “So how's Daryl? Does he know it was me?”

“I honestly don’t know if he knows, he didn’t say anything. He’ll be okay, he’s awake now. And I think when his hair grows out it will cover the dent in his head from the bullet.” Andrea’s eyes went wide and her jaw dropped before Madison laughed, “I’m sorry, that was a cheap shot, but I couldn’t resist. Seriously though, he’ll be fine. I actually came down here to grab him some dinner and then I saw you and I wanted to apologize, so I’d better get back. Are we okay?”

“We were before that terrible joke. I mean it, it really was awful, I can’t believe I fell for it,” Andrea teased with a smile.

Madison shrugged, “You’re tired; you’ll fall for anything. Good night Andrea.”

“Night Madison.”

Although she hated to admit it, Madison felt better and was glad she’d made things right with Andrea. She entered the kitchen to find only one plate of food set aside; she was disappointed at the mistake, but was grateful Daryl would have something to eat. “Thanks for making him a plate Beth, I appreciate it,” she said to Hershel’s youngest daughter as she picked it up.

Beth looked up from the dishes she was washing, “Oh, no, that’s yours. Carol took his up already.”

Confused, Madison looked down at her plate, “She didn’t have to do that...anyway thanks for making me a plate.”

“No problem,” Beth beamed.

Not wanting to eat alone in the Greene’s dining room and with nowhere else to go, Madison climbed the stairs to go eat with Daryl. She wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and nearly plowed into Carol as she made her way downstairs. “Oh! Sorry, I didn’t see you there; guess I was lost in my own little world.”

“I noticed you do that.” Carol eyed the plate in Madison’s hand, “You don’t need to worry about bringing him dinner, I took his plate up.”

Madison wasn’t sure why, but she felt like she was being put on the defense. Carol’s words and tone were nice enough, but there was an underlying note in her voice that sounded very territorial and made Madison uneasy, like she was trespassing. “I know. This for me. I was going to eat with him and check on him once more before calling it a night. You didn’t need to bring him his dinner; I said I was only going to be a second.”

“I know that’s what you said, but I saw how sidetracked you got and I didn’t want Daryl to feel like he’d been forgotten. I’m happy to do it, really. It was the least I could do after everything he’s done for me and my little girl. He’s been so thoughtful and dedicated since she went missing, and you saw that beautiful flower he brought me and heard that sweet story? I’m so lucky to have a man that cares so much in my life.”

Madison gave her a weak smile, “Yeah, lucky,” and tried to move past her.

“Oh, you were serious about checking on him? I’m sure he’ll go right to sleep after he eats, I wouldn’t bother him if I were you.”

It was clear to Madison that Carol didn’t like the time she’d been spending with Daryl and it seemed like Carol had feelings for him, and from the way Carol made it sound, he felt the same. If he was in a relationship with Carol it answered Madison’s questions about why he cared so much about finding Sophia. Her heart ached at the prospect of the two of them together and the jealousy she’d felt the previous day resurfaced. ‘You’re acting like a child, you’ve only known him for two days; you have no reason to be upset,’ she told herself, but it didn’t help. Then the thought struck her that if they were together, why wasn’t Carol up waiting in the hall for news earlier, why didn’t she come up and check on him before now? Encouraged by this Madison stood her ground. ”Nevertheless, I want to explain why it took me a little longer, I’d hate for him to think I’d forgotten about him. But thanks for your advice.”

Carol left without another word and Madison climbed the last few stairs and made her way to Daryl’s room. More unsure of where she stood with him than before she softly knocked on the door and waited for permission to come in. Daryl gruffly called out, “What?” and Madison took that as the permission she needed, opened the door and stepped inside. Daryl was sitting up again, eating and greeted her by asking, “Since when d’ya knock?”

She shrugged, “Since now, I guess. Sorry it took me so long, I got sidetracked.” She took a seat in the chair and started picking at her food.

“Don’t matter,” he answered, his mouth full, “What got ya sidetracked?”

“Um, I had to apologize to Andrea for something,” she replied, purposefully vague. She didn’t know how he’d react to finding out who shot him. He gave her a curious look, prodding her to continue, “I sort of lost it and screamed at her when you were unconscious earlier. Thing is, she, don’t freak out, uh...she’s the one that shot you.” Daryl surprised her by laughing at the news, “What’s so funny?”

He held his injured side as he continued to chuckle, “Andrea, huh? ‘Lways figured if one of the women in camp was gonna shoot me, it’d be Lori.”

Madison laughed with him, “You’ve given this a lot of thought.” He nodded. “How about the men?”

“‘Til Shane tried today, I woulda said Glenn, prob’ly oughta stop callin’ ‘im Chinaman.”

“I think that would be for the best,” Madison giggled. Then curiosity got the better of her, “Not to be a buzzkill, but what happened out there today? Hershel said something about you yanking out an arrow?”

Daryl nodded, mouth full again. He swallowed before answering, “Yeah. Horse got spooked by a rattler an’ threw me, I fell down this ridge an’ one of my bolts went right through me,” he twisted slightly to show her the entrance wound on his back and drew an imaginary line in the air connecting it to the exit wound on his side. “Tried t’climb my way out an’ the damn ground gave way an’ I fell again. Passed out fer ‘while, woke up with a walker pullin’ at my foot an’ ‘nother one comin’ at me from the trees. Hada yank the bolt out t’shoot it, smashed the other’s skull in with a stick. Climbed up an’ out an’ made my way back.”

“I’m sure I’ll regret asking this but, the ears?”

“Trophies.” Daryl stated as he took another bite, smirking at Madison’s stunned expression, “Regret askin’?”

“Yep,” she said, popping the p at the end. “I’m glad you made it back.”

“Almost didn’t come back, thought ‘bout headin’ out on m'own.”

“Why?” She asked, but he didn’t respond. “What changed your mind?”

He didn’t say anything, just met her gaze with his own, trying to say with a look what he couldn’t say in words; that she was the reason he came back. Her heart raced as he stared at her and she caught his meaning. “Good thing almost don’t count, right?” he asked her.

“Right,” she said breathlessly. They finished eating in silence and when he finished, Daryl tossed his empty plate on the ground. Madison shook her head at him, stood up and picked it up off the floor, stacked it with her own and set it down on the night stand. “All right, mister,” Madison finally spoke, “You need to rest, lights out.” He slowly threw his legs over the bed and rose to his feet, his balance slightly off. Madison steadied him, “What do you need? Lay back down, I can get it.”

“Gotta take a piss, Maddie. Ya gonna do that fer me?” Daryl replied, waving her away.

She blushed slightly, “Oh, nope, no. That’s all you.” He left the room, shaking his head and muttering to himself and she went and sat back down in the chair just until he came back and then she’d leave. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until Daryl’s whistle woke her up.

“Ya plannin’ on sleepin’ there all night?”

The room was dark, except for the moonlight filtering in through the window. Disoriented, Madison rubbed her eyes, trying to gather her thoughts into a coherent sentence. “No, I was just waiting for you to come back before I went out to my tent,” she yawned.

“Huh,” he grunted. “Maybe ya should stay close, jus’ in case.”

“All right,” she agreed settling back into the chair.

“How’s yer ribs? That chair don’t look that comfortable.”

“Meh, it’s okay.”

“There’s plenty of room over 'ere, come lay down.”

Madison gave him a skeptical look, “What?”

“I ain’t gonna try nothin’,” Daryl said, exasperated, “Jus’ don’t wanna see ya hurt yerself worse ‘cause of me. Now get yer butt over 'ere.”

“Okay, okay,” Madison surrendered and joined Daryl on the bed. She sighed as she laid down, “You’re right, this is much better than the chair. Thank you.”

“Yer welcome.” He settled in on his right side, the pressure of laying on his wounds causing too much pain for him to lay any other way. He looked over at Madison as she relaxed and a smile crept across her face, “Whatcha smilin’ at?”

She turned to her left side to face him before she answered, “I forgot how nice it is to sleep in a bed, without worrying about a walker getting you in your sleep.”

Daryl grunted in agreement, “Ya want me t’go t’sleep, so I get three questions, right?”

Madison chuckled, “Sure Daryl.”

“Where ya from? Y'ain’t from ‘round here.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“No accent.”

“I grew up in Athens and my family moved to Iowa when I was 13. The kids at school made fun of my accent so much I worked hard to lose it. After my dad died and I left for school my mom moved back to Athens. We were down to tell my mom about the engagement when all hell broke loose.”

“What happened t' 'em? Yer mom an’ fiancé?”

She took a deep breath, “They died the same night. We were holed up in this run down motel and we were surrounded by walkers and running out of supplies. Charles, my fiancé, wanted to leave my mom and Ally behind, kept saying that they were holding us back, especially my mom because of her heart problems. That was the last straw and I lost it and yelled at him and we got in a huge argument, that’s when he gave me this,” she pointed to her black eye. “Anyway, the yelling brought more walkers and there were so many pushing on the door that it gave way.” Her voice cracked as she continued, “My mom stepped between us and the walkers, sacrificed herself to buy Ally and I more time. She and I made it out the fire escape. Charles never made it out.”

Daryl put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed her arm, trying to comfort her, not sure what to say. After a few minutes Madison regained control and stopped crying. “One more question,” Madison finally whispered, letting Daryl know that she was all right.

“‘Kay. D’ya miss ‘im?”

“Who? Charles?” Daryl nodded, his blue eyes locked with hers. “Not at all.”

“Good. 'e didn’t deserve ya when 'e was alive an’ 'e sure as hell don’t deserve yer tears now.”

“And he doesn’t get any,” she assured him, “Now try and get some sleep.”

“‘lright, g’night Maddie,” Daryl whispered, his voice low and husky.

Madison smiled at him and closed her eyes, “Good night.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eight chapters in! Wow! I can't believe it! I'm excited, are you excited? Thank you to everyone who is reading this and leaving kudos, the support means the word to me. R&R please! I'm new at this and would love the chance to improve. I hope you enjoy this next installment. And same as before, I do not own TWD, I only own Madison.

For the second morning in a row Madison woke to Daryl shaking her. She gave him a perturbed, sidelong glance before burying her head in her pillow. It had been the most restful night’s sleep she’d had in months and she wasn’t about to give it up without a fight. She lifted her head enough to see the fading purple sky of early morning through the window and she closed her eyes again, trying to ignore his burly hand nudging her shoulder. “Leave me alone, you lunatic. The sun’s not even up yet,” she whined, her words muffled by her pillow.

He responded by shaking her harder, “C’mon Maddie, ya gotta get up.”

“No!”

With a mischievous smirk he whipped the blanket off her, “Ya gotta get out. Move it.”

Her head popped off the pillow and she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, trying to read his face and decide if he was being serious, “You’re kicking me out?”

“Well, yeah. It’s mornin’,” Daryl replied as though the answer was the most obvious thing in the world.

“'It’s morning’?” Madison echoed Daryl’s words, sitting up as she tried to process what she was hearing. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered to herself, leaning forward, resting her elbows on her knees and cradling her head in her hands. She exhaled in disbelief and groaned into her hands, “I feel so cheap.” She tossed her legs over the edge of the bed and slid her boots on as quickly as possible, not even bothering to lace them up in her haste. She didn’t care; she just wanted to get out of there as fast as humanly possible. ‘And stupid,” she finished in her head. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid girl,” she mentally chided herself. She knew she had no reason to be upset; he hadn’t taken advantage of her, nothing physical happened between the two of them last night, she and Daryl had only talked a little and slept. It was completely irrational, but she felt used. He’d gotten what he wanted from her, whatever that was: someone to wait on him, someone fawn over him, a warm body to sleep next to, and now he had no use for her. After all they’d been through, after standing up to Shane for him and tending to him, after all that she’d earned better than this from him. Truth be told she was embarrassed; last night had clearly meant more to her than it did to him. Before drifting off to sleep the night before, her mind began to wander and she had admitted to herself that she was developing feelings for Daryl; she had also allowed herself to entertain the possibility that he felt something too. Obviously she was wrong. ‘Just a pathetic little girl with a crush. These ‘feelings’ aren’t real. He’s the rebound, call it what it is and move on,’ she now told herself.

Hurt and confused she reached the door and opened it part way, but before she could walk out Daryl struggled to his feet and stepped between her and her escape, leaving no more than a couple of inches between them. Without looking away from her, he pushed the door shut giving her no option but to stay and talk. She refused to make eye contact, instead focusing on the door behind him. “Get out of my way, Daryl,” she cautioned.

“C’mon, don’t be like that,” he said in harsh whisper, “I didn’t mean it like that an’ ya know it. Ain’t like I’m tossin’ ya out like week ol’ trash, Maddie.”

She finally met his gaze, not expecting the confusion and concern written on his face. “It’s not? Because that’s sure how it feels.”

He sighed and shook his head; at a loss as to what was happening. He didn’t care if he lived to be one hundred, he would never understand women or be able to stop himself from speaking before thinking. ‘Good job, dumbass,’ he angrily told himself, ‘That’s what? Three times since ya met ‘er that ya’ve hurt ‘er bad?’ Normally Daryl didn't care about the effect his words had on people, usually thinking that the more they stung the better, but with Madison it was different. He cared that his words hurt her, unintentionally or not. It pained him and all he wanted was to fix the problem he'd caused, to make her smile again. He wasn’t good at expressing feelings, even to himself. He’d been raised to swallow his emotions and keep everything bottled up inside; what was it about this girl that made him want to open up, or at least try to? As much as he tried to deny it, he cared for her, more than he'd ever cared about anyone before in his life. He didn't bother trying to label it or decipher exactly in what way he cared for her because he couldn't ignore the facts staring him in the face; a girl like Madison would never settle for redneck trash like him and he wouldn't want her to, she deserved better than what he could offer.

Daryl studied Madison’s expectant face, her golden-brown eyes looking to him for an explanation he wasn't sure he could give. Instinctively he reached for her and gently laid a hand on each of her shoulders, he felt her momentarily tense at his touch, but she didn’t pull away. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, clearing her head and trying not to get lost in how tenderly he touched her, running his hands up and down her upper arms. He swallowed nervously before speaking. “It ain’t that I don’t want ya here, yer ‘bout the only one in camp I actually like spendin’ time with,” he pleaded with her, his husky voice sending involuntary shivers down Madison’s spine, “I weren’t tryin’ t’hurt ya, it’s jus’, these people ain’t got nothin’ better t’do than run their mouths off an’ if Lori or Andrea saw ya leavin’ an’ saw that ya spent the night they’d spread it ‘round camp like wildfire. It don’t concern nobody ‘cept you an’ me an’ I don’t wanna see ‘em pokin’ ‘round our business.”

Madison wasn’t expecting any of that; Daryl had a way of taking her by surprise. She nodded, “Okay, I can see that. That makes sense."

"I didn't mean t’hurt ya. Madison, I...I ain't 'im," he whispered, hoping he could prove to her that he wasn't like her ex.

"I know you’re not, I might just need reminding from time to time,” she gave him a weak smile. “Guess I still have a lot of crap to work through.  Can I ask you one thing?"

“‘Course.”

“Since when do you and I have ‘business’?” she teased, falling again to her default setting of making jokes to lighten the mood.

“Shut up an’ get yer butt downstairs b‘fore someone sees ya,” he quipped, opening the door a crack and making sure the hallway was empty before stepping aside and opening the door for her wide enough that she could squeeze past him and out.

She crept out of Daryl’s room and into the hallway when the early morning silence was broken by a door creaking open. Madison whipped around and looked to Daryl with wide eyes, wordlessly asking him what she should do. She turned back to see who opened the door and saw Maggie standing in the hallway, staring slack jawed at the scene playing out before her; a disheveled Madison sneaking away from a shirtless Daryl standing in the doorway to his temporary bedroom. “Maggie, no. It’s not what it looks like. I fell asleep in the chair last night,” Madison tried to explain, her alibi partially true.

With a knowing smile Maggie simply said, “No offense Madison, but no one gets hair like that sleepin' in a chair. I’d tweak your cover story if I were you.” She shook her head as she left and headed downstairs.

“Maggie!” Madison called after her as loudly as she dared, trying to avoid waking anyone else up. She looked over her shoulder to Daryl; he looked pale as he watched his fears come to life, “It’s okay Daryl. I’ll talk to her and fix it. She won’t say anything.”

“How d’ya know?”

“I know a secret of hers,” she answered, hating herself for even considering using Glenn against Maggie. ‘Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,’ she thought as she raced down the stairs after Maggie, hoping to catch her and explain everything. At the bottom of the stairs, she caught of glimpse of herself in a decorative mirror hanging on the wall. Horrified, she combed her hair with her fingers the best she could. Maggie was right, no one would believe her story the way she looked at the moment; she had to get herself looking presentable before she went traipsing off looking for Maggie, she needed a new plan. First things first, she had to get to her tent and get out of yesterday’s clothes and try to tame the mess on top of her head, then she could find Maggie. She peaked out the front door, pleased to see that no one in camp was awake yet, the only exception being Dale on watch. It wasn’t ideal, but if anyone had to be on watch, it was much better that it was him and not Carol or Andrea. At least Dale would give her the benefit of the doubt if he caught her. Even if he made the same assumption as Maggie, Madison knew Dale would keep it to himself.

She ran to her tent as quietly and quickly as her lungs allowed, trying to suppress a cough until she was safely inside and wouldn’t draw attention to herself. Nearing camp, someone’s soft snores brought to her a stop, afraid that the snoring would wake someone up and she’d be discovered. Cautiously her eyes traveled in the direction of the snores and saw Dale fast asleep on the roof of the RV, his chin resting on his chest. Relief washed over her and she tip-toed the rest of the way to her tent, making it inside without anyone seeing her.

Once inside Madison quickly shed her top and replaced it with a loose fitting, plain blue Henley shirt. As she dug through her bag, searching for her brush, she heard the camp coming alive. Her mind wandered as she brushed her hair, she only missed getting caught by the entire camp by a matter of minutes. It was a close call; she let out a long, slow breath, too close. Satisfied that her hair was under control she dropped her brush back into her bag and waited for the right moment to leave her tent. Before she left, she placed her hand to her hip to check for her knife only to find it missing. She frantically checked her pockets, even though she knew it wouldn’t fit in any of them. She checked in her sleeping bag, under her pillow, in her bags, but couldn’t find her knife anywhere. It was just gone. She was teetering on the edge of a panic attack. A knife was the only weapon she could use well and being without a weapon in this world was a death sentence even in a safe place like the farm. The farm was safer than being out on the road or in the forest like she had been with Ally, but it wasn’t a fortress; walkers still got in like the one in the well T-Dog told her about. She was getting too worked up imagining impossible worse case scenarios, she had to calm down. ‘The farm’s secure and even if one got in, you’re surrounded by armed people. It’ll be okay,’ she reasoned with herself. Taking deep breaths, Madison mentally retraced her steps yesterday, thinking of when the last time she had it with her, ‘I had it on watch, I took it off when I laid down, but I know I had it when I left to help with dinner...had it while Hershel was in with Daryl...’

Madison was so focused on remembering when she last had her knife that she didn’t hear Glenn approach her tent. He cleared his throat to announce his presence, not wanting to startle her. When she didn’t respond he rustled the tent, his version of knocking, and called her name. Glenn's voice made her jump slightly and broke her concentration. With a frustrated sigh she left her tent to see what he needed, "Morning Glenn, how's life?"

"Brought peaches," he responded, aware Madison was speaking to him, but too distracted to actually answer her question. He looked around uneasily, worry lines etched deep in his forehead. His eyes were constantly moving and his gaze always came to rest on the Greene's barn.

"Uh, thanks…" Madison eyed Glenn carefully as she grabbed a couple of peaches; his nervousness rubbing off on her, "Everything all right? You’re acting weird."

He refocused on Madison, knowing he was being more than a little conspicuous, "Oh, yeah, no. Everything's great, why wouldn't it be?"

“You’re a terrible liar. You know that, right? What’s going on, Glenn?”

“What? Why do you think something’s going on? Everything’s fine.” Madison didn’t answer and simply stared at him waiting for him to come clean. With a heavy sigh he cracked under the pressure, “Maggie, she uh…Maggie’s pissed at me. I thought she’d cool off by now, but when she brought the peaches by this morning…”

“Hold up, Maggie was here, you saw her? How long ago? Where did she go?” Madison cut him off mid-sentence, craning her neck, seeking clues as to Maggie’s whereabouts.

"Now who's acting weird? She went back to the house I think, maybe the stable?"

Madison trotted towards the house, yelling a rushed thank you to Glenn over her shoulder. She had almost reached the house when she saw Maggie out by the generator. Changing directions abruptly, she briefly lost her balance, catching herself before she fell over completely. Pleased with her recovery she looked around to see if anyone saw her stumble; Maggie was the only one who saw, trying and failing to hold in her laughter. "Where's the fire?" she called out as Madison got closer.

"About what you saw this morning," Madison panted, bent over with her hands on her thighs as she tried to catch her breath. Her lungs and ribs couldn't heal soon enough, this was getting ridiculous.

“Whoa, straight to the chase I see,” Maggie remarked, “It’s not a big deal, Madison. Really, it’s okay.”

"Nothing happened," she insisted.

"Still goin' with denial, huh? Look, I don't care if you two hooked up or not. I'm certainly not in any position to judge. Do who you gotta do to let off some steam," Maggie teased, chuckling at her own joke.

Maggie, at least, was entertained by the situation; Madison, on the other hand, was getting more and more agitated, “Argh, Maggie! I’m telling you the truth, what will it take for you to believe me?”

“Give me a reasonable explanation and not some transparent cover story for a start. If you’re embarrassed, don’t be; you could’ve done a lot worse.”

With one hand on her hip Madison ran the other through her hair and sighed, resigning herself to the fact that Maggie was never going to believe her. “Believe what you want, but it’s really important to Daryl that no one knows I slept in his room last night so, please, I’m asking you as a friend; just keep this between us, okay?”

The sincerity behind Madison’s request caught Maggie’s attention as did her use of the word “friend”. Maggie thought the end of the world had closed the door on meeting new people and forging new relationships; she’d never been happier to be proved wrong in her life. “Okay, if it’s that important I won’t tell a soul. I promise.” Relief washed over Madison as Maggie spoke, “If you two didn’t...if nothin' happened, why were you sneakin' out so early?”

“I did fall asleep in the chair, but Daryl woke me up and suggested that I stay, just in case he needed something during the night. Sleeping in the chair was hurting my ribs so I laid down on the bed. That’s all. Sorry I don’t have a juicier story for you.”

“In case he needed somethin'? Yeah, that’s why he asked you to stay,” Maggie joked, nudging Madison.

“Shut up,” Madison giggled with a slight blush, “Anyway, he thinks that the people in camp have nothing better to do than talk and he didn’t want people making assumptions and spreading gossip. He wants to keep our-his, I meant his. Daryl wants to keep his business private,” she managed to stammer out, trying to ignore the less than convinced expression on Maggie’s face.

As she spoke Madison admired the farm’s untainted beauty and wished Hershel would change his mind and let the group of survivors stay, at least through the winter. While gazing at the farm she saw Daryl walking from the farmhouse with a hand holding his injured side as he sauntered towards camp. He saw her talking with Maggie and shot her a quizzical glance, silently asking if their secret was safe. She discreetly nodded in return with a small smile, answering his question, and assuring him everything was under control. With one sharp nod he acknowledged her answer and looked away. Out of the corner of her eye Madison could see Maggie’s smirk, apparently she hadn’t been as subtle as she thought and Maggie noticed the exchange between them. Before Maggie could say anything Madison changed the subject by blurting, “How’re things with Glenn? He thinks you’re mad at him about something.”

“Observant guy. Who knows how things are goin'? I don’t even know if I like him, every time I see him I’m torn between wantin' to kiss him or wring his neck. That’s nor-”

“Maggie, Daddy said to come in for breakfast,” Beth called to her older sister from the porch, interrupting her train of thought.

“Be right in,” she hollered back, “I’d better get goin', would you like to join us?”

Madison shook her head, “Nah, but thanks though. I’d better get back before Shane gets the group thinking I don’t pull my weight around camp.”

The two women parted ways. Madison reached camp and saw Andrea entering Daryl’s tent. ‘What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. I hope he’s as forgiving as he was last night and that wasn’t just the pain meds talking,’ she mused, nodding to Dale as she stepping in the RV to gather some mending to work on. Upon exiting the RV she dragged a camping chair under the shade of the RV’s awning and settled in for a long morning of sewing patches. She tried her best not to eavesdrop when Carl asked Shane to teach him how to shoot; and when Shane discovered that Carl had taken a gun from the RV, she focused intently on the tattered clothes in her hand, not wanting to get involved in the Grimes’ family drama if she could help it. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Carol bring a chair over and sit next to her, inwardly groaning knowing full well that Carol would try to get information out of her about last night.

“Need a hand?” Carol asked, helping herself to the next article of clothing on the pile, “I find it’s easier not to overhear things you don’t want to when you have someone to talk to.” Madison glanced up at Carol and smiled in agreement, trying to hide her discomfort. Carol wasted no time and dove right into the questions about Daryl, “How’s Daryl feeling this morning?”

Madison didn’t look up as she answered, “No idea. I haven’t talked to him.”

“Hmmm,” Carol seemed pleased with that answer, “How did it go last night after I left? Was he still doing okay?”

“Yeah, he seemed fine. You were right, he didn’t stay awake long after he ate,” she lied, protecting Daryl’s wish for privacy. Carol’s superior smirk rubbed Madison the wrong way; she wasn’t a violent person, but she visualized how satisfying it would be to smack the smirk off Carol’s face. Madison abruptly changed the subject before Carol could press her with any more questions, “This is such an eclectic group; how did you all come together?” Carol was all too happy to explain, much to Madison’s relief. She partially tuned Carol out, paying only enough attention to respond at the appropriate times.

Both women were looking down, focused on the clothes in their hands, while Carol prattled on about the group’s back story; neither noticing as Daryl silently walked over to them, crossbow slung across his back. He stood awkwardly in front of them for a minute before clearing his throat and speaking, “Found somethin’ I think belongs t'ya.” Madison and Carol looked up in unison, both startled by Daryl’s voice. His eyes focused on Madison for the most part, but darted to Carol every so often, as he stood with his arm outstretched to her, handing her the knife he’d found.

“My knife! I’ve been going crazy looking for it, thank you! Where did you find it?” Madison asked.

With a blank stare and an exasperated sigh Daryl replied, “Upstairs,” hinting that she’d left it behind when she snuck out earlier. When she didn’t immediately take her knife, he impatiently shook his hand in her direction, indicating she needed to just take it already.

She took the knife from him and returned it to its proper place, feeling more at ease knowing she was no longer defenseless. “Why do you have your bow?”

“Goin’ Christmas carolin’. What’s it look like? Goin’ huntin’ an’ lookin’ fer Sophia.”

“What? Are you suicidal or just stupid? You can’t go out there after yesterday, it’s not worth it!” Madison turned to Carol, realizing what just came out of her mouth, “I’m so sorry Carol. I didn’t mean that Sophia isn’t worth it, she is, but he almost died yesterday.” She turned back to Daryl before going on, “Rick’s got a plan and is going to have people out looking after Shane’s gun training. It’s not solely up to you to find her.”

“She’s right. I don’t want anyone to die looking for my little girl, especially you,” Carol softly added, concern clearly audible in her quiet voice.

“How long ya reckon gun trainin’ will take? Few hours? I ain’t sittin' on my ass waitin’ ‘round fer someone else t’do somethin' I’m capable of doin’ myself,” Daryl shot back.

“Rick said he doesn’t want anyone going out there by themselves,” Madison countered, rising to her feet and folding her arms, making it clear that she was standing her ground, “It’s pairs or staying put.”

“Then it looks like yer comin’ with me, Maddie.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Are you sure that’s wise, with both of you injured?” Carol interjected hoping to raise their concerns enough that they’d stay, limiting the time Daryl spent with Madison.

“I ain’t worried, not as bad off as I look,” he shrugged off Carol’s concerns before looking to Madison once again, “Said so yerself, can’t go alone an’ I ain’t stayin’ here. Goin’ stir crazy after yesterday an' this mornin'. I’m goin’ with‘r without ya. I’ll teach ya t’shoot if ya come.”

“Deal,” Madison agreed, maybe a little too quickly. Daryl nodded, turning from camp and towards the woods. He waited for her to join him before walking away with Madison by his side.

“Hold up you two. Where do you think you’re goin'?” Shane hollered after them.

“Huntin’,” Daryl yelled back, not bothering to stop or even turn his head as he responded.

Shane caught up to them. “Gun trainin’s gonna start. It’s important there are no weak links in the group, we all need to be able to defend camp,” he sneered looking at Madison.

Insulted by the implication that she was the weak link in camp she whipped around and faced him head on, “My dad was a cop, I’ve been surrounded by guns my whole life. I know how to use them.”

“That’s all fine an’ good, but can you shoot?”

“We’ll see when we’re out there, y'ain’t the only one that can teach ‘er,” Daryl coldly interjected.

“And frankly, the less time I spend around you and a loaded gun the better. I’d hate to sneeze and have it be mistaken for a walker bite symptom,” Madison spat at Shane.

Shane was seething, but before he could formulate a response, Rick called to him, “She doesn’t have to come if she doesn’t want to. C’mon, we need to get goin’.” Shane left to join his former partner without another word, casting a threatening look at the two of them as he walked away.

Daryl and Madison continued on their way out of camp, falling into step with each other, “Pissin’ ‘im off the new plan, then?” Daryl asked as he readied his crossbow, eyes forward scanning the trees for signs of danger or Sophia.

Madison followed Daryl’s lead and unsheathed her knife, “Yeah, I think it might be. It’s more satisfying and a lot more fun, don’t you think?”

“Hell yeah. Only came up with the first plan ‘cause I didn’t know ya had this in ya,” he confessed, giving her a sidelong glance.

She shrugged, “It’s new. Maybe not new, but I’m discovering it again.”

“Wherever it came from, it’s a good thing. I like a woman that ain’t afraid t’bust a few balls.”

Madison’s cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson as she tried to stammer out a response, “What? I don’t…I’m not like…I don’t do that!”

A small lopsided smile covered Daryl's face at her reaction; he enjoyed giving her a hard time and it was so easy to get a reaction out of her; the combination of the two was irresistible to him and he took the bait, "What? D'I embarrass ya? Ya should be proud, t'shut Shane up like that?" He let out a low whistle, "An' ya've put me in my place plenty an' that ain't no easy feat."

“But I’m just putting my foot down and standing up for myself, I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m…” she trailed off. The makeshift path they were following was starting to narrow and she slowed down, allowing Daryl to take the lead.

“A ball buster?” He looked back at her with an amused expression, “Whaddya call it then?”

“Being assertive.”

“Call it whatever ya like, don’t change that I’m right.”

“Know what? I think I liked it better when you were the strong, silent type, emphasis on the silent.”

Daryl grinned to himself, “Now what don’t make sense t’me is how a fighter like ya stayed with a tool like yer ex fer as long as ya did.”

“Let’s not talk about that now,” Madison retorted, all mirth gone from her voice.

They reached a clearing and Daryl stopped walking, deciding it would do nicely for a makeshift gun range. He turned to Madison, who was leaning against a nearby tree with her arms folded and head down, kicking the dirt with her toe, and added softly, “I jus’ wanna understand what happened.”

She looked up at him through her eyelashes, “You really want to talk about this? Now? Fine.” She sighed deeply, gathering her thoughts; eyes still downcast, unable to meet his gaze, “It doesn’t make sense to me either. I didn’t see what was happening until it was too late and his hooks were in too deep. After so long I believed what he said and saw myself like he saw me; replaceable and worthless and that made me think that it wasn’t worth fighting anymore. I was afraid of him and I couldn’t bring myself to stand up to him. I’m not afraid of Shane, I don’t trust him, but I’m not afraid of him and I’m not afraid of you in any way; I think that’s why I can speak up now.” She snuck a peek at Daryl, she couldn’t read his face, but his eyes were kind and full of understanding. “When he suggested abandoning my family to save himself and took a swing at Ally, something snapped and I remembered that some things are worth fighting for. You won’t get it unless you’ve been there. I don’t want to talk about this anymore, okay?”

“Okay,” he whispered then cleared his throat and by doing so clearing away the emotion in his voice. He reached behind him and pulled out a handgun he’d kept hidden in his waistband. Holding it out to her he instructed, “Take it an’ show me what ya got.” She took the gun from him and instinctively got into a standard, law enforcement shooting stance. Daryl nodded, impressed by her form, “Good, aim fer that knothole in the middle of that tree there.”

She held her breath and pulled the trigger, missing the tree entirely. She looked at his scrunched up face, “I told you I was bad at this.”

He thoughtfully tugged on his beard before responding, “Yeah, yeah ya did, thought maybe y'was bein’ modest. Go again, this time try bendin’ yer elbow lil’ more. Yer too tense, relax yer shoulders.” He stood next to her and put his hands on her shoulders to lower them and then adjusted her elbow.

‘Not helping me relax,’ she thought as she shot again, this time hitting the tree, but a good four feet above her target. She tried a few more times, never successfully hitting the knothole.

Daryl rubbed his face, “How ain’t ya dead yet? I’m serious, yer prob’ly the worst shot I’ve ever seen.”

“That’s not helping, Daryl. Tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

“No idea, ya look like ya got it right. Show me how ya hold it.” She got into position again and Daryl looked at how the gun was sitting in her hands, “Try pullin’ the trigger with jus’ the tip of yer finger, might help stabilize yer aim.” She did as she was told and fired another round and did a little better, but still was far from the target.

“Some people just aren’t gun people,” she stated, clicking the safety on and tucking the gun in her waistband, “I have my knife and it’s kept me alive this long.”

“Ain’t smart t'rely on gettin’ that close t‘em all the time.”

“I know, I don’t have to, I…”

“Knowin’ how t’use a knife is a good backup, but it can’t be yer only way of protectin’ yerself.”

“But that’s what I’m trying to say, I can do more than stab…”

“Maybe Shane’ll be able t’help ya…”

“Shut up and listen!” Madison cut Daryl off, pulling her knife from its sheath and throwing it at the nearest tree in a practiced, fluid motion. She beamed with pride when she saw that her knife hit her target and struck the squirrel running up the trunk of the tree. She stomped to the tree and pulled the knife free, gathering her kill; taking pleasure in Daryl’s dumbstruck expression. She tossed the squirrel at Daryl and walked behind him, pulling the red rag from his back pocket to clean off her knife, “I’ll teach myself to shoot before I ask Shane for help. I’m not a weak link and I’m not defenseless.”

“See? Like I said, ball buster,” he teased, giving her a quick wink as he took back his rag. “What’d’ya do different shootin’ an' throwin’?”

“If I knew then I wouldn’t have this problem, knife throwing is second nature.”

“Think Maddie, gotta be somethin’.”

Madison folded her arms and chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to find the difference between the two procedures. “My breathing,” she finally concluded, “I hold my breath when I shoot.”

“We can work with that, draw again,” he instructed, propping his crossbow against a stump and stepping behind her. “Where d’ya look when aimin’?”

“At the target.”

He placed his left hand on her left shoulder and reached around her right to point to the sights, “Try focusin’ on the front sights, the target will be blurry, but yer aim’ll be better.” Madison nodded; he was standing so close to her, she worried he could hear her heart pounding in her chest at his touch. “K, yer gonna pull the trigger after ya exhale an’ before ya inhale, in that break.” He rested his right hand on her stomach. He answered her questioning gaze by saying, “Relax, will ya? It’s so I can time yer breathin’. Breathe: in, out, pull. In, out, pull. Shoot this time, in, out, pull.”

She followed Daryl’s instructions and pulled the trigger in time with his coaching, hitting the knothole. “I hit it? I actually hit it! I can’t believe it!” she squealed with excitement, resisting the urge to turn around and hug her instructor.

Daryl removed his hand from her stomach and set it on her right shoulder, lightly shaking her, “Good job, Ball Buster.”

She was too excited by her accomplishment to wipe the broad smile off her face as she gently elbowed him in the stomach, “Don’t you dare start calling me that.” She took aim and fired several more rounds into the tree, still in disbelief that she was hitting the target. The celebration was short lived, however; cut short by a walker wandering into the clearing, drawn to them by the gunshots. Fear broke over Madison like a wave; this was the first walker she'd seen since the morning Daryl saved her, since the morning Ally died, and all those emotions came rushing back, making her far more afraid of the lone walker than she should've been. “Daryl…” she whispered, her voice trembling. She tried backing away from the approaching monster, but she backed into Daryl who refused to move.

“It’s okay, Maddie. Jus’ a movin’ target.” Her hands were shaking as she raised the gun, trying to remember everything she’d just learned. She fired and missed the walker completely; in a panic she pulled the trigger again, hitting it in the shoulder this time. Daryl reached behind them and grabbed his crossbow, taking aim as he tried to calm Madison down. “Ya need t’focus an’ breath. Ya can do this. In, out, pull, remember? In, out, pull.” The walker was almost on top of them, its arms outstretched, trying to pull its next meal to its eager jaws. Daryl and Madison both stepped back as far as they could. “Now‘r never, Maddie.” Madison slowed her breath and found its rhythm and fired one last shot, hitting the walker between the eyes and dropping it to the ground.

Cautiously they approached the fallen walker one going on each side, hunting knife in his hand and the gun still in hers. Daryl kicked it, making sure it was dead, before bending down. This one had been dead for a very long time, its flesh falling off in chunks making it difficult for Daryl to find the entrance wound. After scrutinizing the walker for a minute he pointed to the entrance wound, “Good shot, take a look.”

Madison shook her head and sat on her heals and leaned in, supporting her upper body with her hands on her knees, “I choked. I almost got us killed.”

“Almost don’t count,” he grunted removing an intricately studded leather cuff bracelet from the walker’s arm. He reached over the walker and took her left arm and snapped the leather band into place.

“What’s this for?” she asked in surprise.

“Trophy,” Daryl said with a smirk, eyes fixed on Madison’s, “ain’t no ear necklace, but ain’t right fer ya t'not have anythin’ t’remember yer first successful shot by.”

She smiled at him, “Daryl, that’s so morbid.” She looked down and examined the detail on the cuff; the leather was a dark, chocolate brown with braided edges; tiny studs dotted the middle of the band in the shape of a rose with a trail of leaves on each side. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered. She tentatively grasped his hand. “I love it, thank you,” she said, quickly squeezing his hand.

They sat like that for a few more seconds before Daryl forced himself away from her and stood up, “Better get back. Let’s find somethin’ ain’t as dangerous fer ya t’use fer target practice.” He held out his hand to Madison and helped her to her feet. They slowly made their way back to the Greene’s farm, taking time to hunt along the way. With each shot Madison grew more confident and it was clear to Daryl that once she got out of her own way, her aim with a gun would become as lethally and effortlessly accurate as her aim with a knife. Three jack rabbits and several squirrels later they decided they had enough meat to keep the camp going for a while and that it would be best to stop firing the gun so close to the farm. Madison suggested another reason to stop shooting; the gunfire might be scaring Sophia and making her take cover so they wouldn’t see her. Daryl nodded in agreement. They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence, knowing the importance of not drawing the attention of any nearby walkers to themselves; one was enough for the day.

“There they are,” Dale’s voice carried across Hershel’s field.

“We were getting worried. We were discussing sending Shane and T out to find you two,” Andrea informed Daryl and Madison as they entered the camp.

Madison suppressed an eye roll at the mention of Shane’s name. Gesturing to the animals Daryl had slung over his back and holding up the squirrels in her hand, she said, “We lost track of time, but it was worth it.”

Daryl carried his share of the animals over to Carol who was preparing dinner for the group, “Hope it ain’t too late t’cook some, the Ball Buster over there did a good job of shootin’ all these fer us.”

“Any sign of her?” Carol quietly asked Daryl, not looking up from the fire pit. Daryl shook his head, disappointment all over his face. Madison joined them and set her squirrels down by the fire. She opened her mouth to comfort Carol, but she spoke first, “It looks like you were busy out there, did you even bother to look for her?

“Carol, of course we did,” Madison tried to reassure the grieving mother. She could feel a dark cloud settle over Daryl at Carol’s accusation.

“All I know is every time you're with Daryl he seems to get distracted and comes back with something, or someone, besides my daughter,” Carol spat, throwing a cold stare in Madison’s direction.

Daryl angrily threw the animals from his back to the ground, keeping one squirrel for himself. “Y’don’t know what the hell yer talkin’ ‘bout,” he growled. He turned and stormed away from the group, mad at himself for not finding Sophia, not even a trace today, and mad at himself for getting distracted and losing focus. Carol was right; Madison did distract him, just being near her made him lose focus. He had to get this under control and fast. He was angry at the distraction on the surface, but deep down he didn’t care. He wouldn’t trade today for anything.

Madison watched Daryl’s retreating back, her hand in her hair, holding her bangs out of her face. The tense silence was broken by T-Dog, “Ball buster? Do I even wanna know?” Everyone turned and looked at him in disbelief; after what happened between Carol, Daryl, and Madison, he really brought that up? T looked from person to person, “What? C’mon, don’t tell me I’m the only person that’s curious.”

“I am a little curious too, actually,” Andrea spoke up.

Madison laughed, “It’s a long, slightly weird story...don’t ask. I just hope it doesn’t stick.”

Dinner was uncomfortable that evening. Lori and Rick weren’t speaking and Rick kept staring at Shane and Shane and Andrea would look at each other and look away, Andrea with a smile on her face. When Shane wasn’t looking at either Rick or Andrea, he was glaring at Dale who was doing his best to avoid Shane’s eyes. Glenn was still acting strange and continuing to watch the barn. Carol had taken her meal inside the RV, much to Madison’s relief.

After dinner Madison loaded up a bowl of the squirrel stew Carol had made, she was angry that Daryl and Madison had returned with squirrels rather than Sophia, but she wasn’t above cooking with them, and took it over to Daryl’s tent. “Knock, knock,” she whispered.

After a moment’s pause came his gruff reply, “Yeah?”

“I won’t stay long,” she told him as she stepped inside. He was laying on his back, his left arm behind his head, holding a book in his right hand, “‘The Case of the Missing Man’. I’ve never read that, is it good?”

Daryl shrugged, setting the book down on his chest, “Dunno, ain’t very far yet. Andrea brought it as a peace offerin’ this mornin’.”

“That was nice of her. Anyway, I wanted to give you this,” she handed him the stew, “and this.” She reached into her waistband and pulled out the gun she’d been using earlier.

“Ya keep that,” he replied, taking the food she offered him, “I got ‘nother one. I’d feel better knowin’ ya had it with ya.”

“Thanks. Even though Hershel said no guns?” She asked, tucking the gun away.

“The ol’ man don’t know what it’s like out there, we do. I ain’t goin’ nowhere without a gun an’ I don’t want ya t’either.”

“All right, I won’t,” she promised, “I’ll let you get back to your book, good night Daryl”

She was halfway out the door when he quietly called after her, “G’night Ball Buster.”

Madison looked back at him; he had his book up covering the lower half of his face. She could just see his eyes and the way they sparkled when he teased her. “Seriously. Don’t,” she warned and then she was gone.

Madison woke the next morning tired and stiff, a far cry from the restful night she’d had in the Greene’s home. She made herself presentable and threw on Ally’s old, thin jacket; the morning chill still in the air. Everyone was still quiet, the tension from last night spilling over into the morning. Madison collapsed into the nearest lawn chair and stared into the fire. Daryl emerged from his tent and pulled a camping chair next to Madison and, with a nod, handed her a plate of eggs. She took them and mouthed thank you to him. They sat in silence, observing the others as they ate.

Glenn abruptly stood up and moved to the front of the group, “Um, guys,’ he paused waiting for everyone to look up at him, “So...the barn’s full of walkers.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, this chapter is longer than most and hopefully I don't have one get this long again. I tried to find a place that I liked to split it up and I just couldn't find one. Also, going into the next phase in the show, I didn't want to tie up loose ends and introduce more drama in the same chapter. I know long chapters can be a pain, but I appreciate you sticking with it. I hope there's enough content in here to keep you riveted. Thanks for the support and enjoy. Nothing has changed, the only thing I own is Madison.

Every eye in the group was fixed on Glenn. “Say that again,” Rick demanded.

“Uh...the barn’s full of walkers.”

Madison looked to Daryl for confirmation, unwilling to believe her ears, “Walkers?”

He glanced at her quickly and nodded, “Yeah.” His jaw was clenched, his face set in an expression that Madison could best describe as acceptance, like he knew a fight was coming and he was ready for it. Everyone remained seated for a moment, too stunned by Glenn’s revelation to move. Shane made the first move towards the barn, propelled forward by rage. Everyone stood and followed him, afraid of what they’d find in the barn, but knowing it was foolish to turn a blind eye to the danger that presented itself. As they trudged through the fields, nearing the barn, Daryl stayed protectively close to Madison, being sure to keep himself between her and their destination.

When the group reached the barn, Shane was already there, peering through the doors and inspecting the structure. He jumped back when a walker lunged at the door, seeing his face through the cracks. He turned around and stomped away from the barn, growling at Rick, “You cannot tell me you’re all right with this.”

“No I am not,” Rick replied, anger rising in his voice, “But we’re guests here. This isn’t our land.”

“This is our lives!” Shane bellowed, riling up the walkers within the barn.

“Lower your voice,” Glenn cautioned.

Tensions were high and the group was on the verge of panic. “We can’t just sweep this under the rug,” Andrea added, throwing her two cents worth in.

Madison shook her head, trying to make sense of the situation. “Why would they keep these...these things on their property?” she asked no one in particular. Daryl heard the fear in her voice and stepped closer to her.

“It ain’t right, not remotely,” Shane agreed. “Okay, we’ve either gotta go in there, we’ve gotta make things right or we’ve just gotta go. Now we’ve been talkin' about Fort Bennin’ for a long time…”

“We can’t go!” Rick cut his friend off mid-sentence.

“Why, Rick? Why?”

Carol stepped forward, answering Shane, “Because my daughter is still out there.” Madison’s heart ached for Carol; the two of them had their problems, but no woman should have to go through what she’d been through.

“Okay,” Shane half laughed, covering his face in frustration, “Okay, I think it’s time that we all start to just consider the other possibility…”

Rick stepped in, “Shane, we’re not leavin’ Sophia behind.”

“How could you even suggest it?” Madison countered Shane's argument.

“I’m close t’findin’ this girl,” Daryl stepped forward, “I jus’ found ‘er damn doll two days ago.”

Shane was losing what little patience he had left, “You found her doll, Daryl. That’s what you did. You found a doll.”

Outraged with his accomplishments being belittled in front of everyone, Daryl paced, “Ya don’t know what the hell yer talkin’ ‘bout!”

“I’m just sayin’ what needs to be said,” Shane shouted, “You get a good lead; it’s in the first forty-eight hours…”

“Shane, stop,” Rick warned, trying to defuse the situation.

Shane ignored Rick and continued to yell at Daryl, “Let me tell you somethin' else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you comin’ all methed out with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction!”

Rick tried once more to shut Shane’s mouth, but it was no use and his attention turned to keeping the two men from beating each other. Everyone started yelling at once, hoping to break up the fight before it started; Rick, caught in the middle, was shoving them apart the best he could. Madison ran to Daryl and grabbed his arm with both hands, doing her best to pull him back. She let go of his arm with one hand and used the other to push his shoulder back, forcing his torso to turn and make him look at her. His eyes met hers briefly and he shook himself free from her grasp, still furious, but not charging at Shane anymore. Shane was fuming and started walking away from the group. Rick called after him, “Now just let me talk to Hershel, let me figure it out.”

“What are you gonna figure out?” Shane roared. He was coming unhinged and it terrified Madison to watch, making her take a step back, afraid of what the madman would do next.

“If we’re gonna stay, if we’re gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it. This is his land,” Rick shot back at Shane.

Dale stepped toward Rick and explained, “Hershel sees those things in there as people, sick people: his wife, his stepson.”

“You knew?” Rick asked dumbfounded.

“Yesterday I talked to Hershel.” Dale answered calmly.

“And you waited the night?” Shane demanded.

“I thought we could survive one more night, we did,” Dale explained, standing his ground, “I was waiting ‘til this morning to say something, but Glenn wanted to be the one.”

“The man is crazy, Rick,” Shane spat, “If Hershel thinks those things are alive or no-!” Shane's yelling agitated the walkers in the barn and they were trying to get to the food they heard on the other side of the barn doors, shaking the doors and looking for an escape. All eyes turned to the barn and everyone fell silent. 

Everyone reacted differently to the heightened threat, no one knowing if the doors would hold; Lori turned from the barn and put herself between the walkers and Carl, Carol started crying and inching away, while others ran forward to protect the group. Madison grabbed her knife and Daryl stepped in front her, his hand behind him, ready to grab the pistol hidden in his waistband. He looked over his shoulder at her and, in a rough whisper, ordered, “Stay b'hind me.”

After the group fell silent, the walkers lost interest and quieted down. Rick motioned for everyone to head back to camp and away from the danger zone. Everyone was happy to do as they were told, except Shane, who refused to leave and stayed behind to inspect the barn some more. Once Daryl got Madison back safely to the campsite he immediately turned and left, making his way to the stables. “Where are you going?” Madison asked him, jogging to catch up to him.

“Stay put, don’t go wanderin’ off. I'll be back b'fore dark,” he answered gruffly and kept walking, leaving her behind.

Madison watched him go, debating if she should follow him or not. She decided that she’d better give him his space and let him cool off after the incident with Shane. Her thoughts were interrupted when Lori joined her, “Hey Madison, do you have a minute?”

She tore her eyes away from Daryl and faced Lori, “Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

“Did I hear you saying the other day that you were a teacher before?”

Madison nodded, “History teacher, yeah.”

“Would it be too much to ask for you to help with Carl? I'm working on math with him right now, but we can switch gears if that’s a problem. It’s just that I’m not very good at this homeschooling thing. Carol usually helps me tutor, but I don’t know where she ran off to, could I impose on you?”

Madison beamed, thrilled to use her teaching skills again, relishing the feeling of something normal and familiar, “No imposition. I can help with math. I supported myself through school tutoring kids. I’m no mathematician, but I’ll do what I can.” They walked over to Carl, “Hey little man, your mom said she could use some help, mind if I join you guys? What’re you working on?”

“Long division,” Carl said glumly.

“I used to hate long division too, until my favorite teacher, Ms. Greer, taught me something pretty cool, want to see it?” Carl nodded enthusiastically and Madison helped him work through a few problems. A few minutes later Carol raced through camp and went straight into the RV, slamming the door behind her. Confused, Madison looked up and saw Daryl storming back to camp, holding his side. She checked Carl’s work before saying, “You’re doing great, Carl. Keep working on those last few problems, I’ll be right back.” Madison ran over to Daryl, “What happened? Are you okay?”

“Ya got a sewin’ kit?” he asked, avoiding answering her.

“I think so, why?”

Daryl started walking towards his tent, “Go grab it an’ then c'mere, I need ya fer a second.”

Madison put two and two together and ran to her tent and quickly found her sewing kit and what was left of her first aid kit. Carol was watching her from the window of the RV as she hurried to Daryl’s tent, but she chose to ignore Carol’s stare. He was sitting on his cot, lifting up the side of his shirt, trying to see his side when she stepped in. He briefly cast his eyes at her and then back down as he spoke, “Think I popped some stitches, need ya t'fix me up.”

“Me? I’ve never given anyone stitches, I’ll go get Hershel…” she began, setting her stuff down and opening the flap to leave.

“No!” he growled, harsher than he intended, making her drop the flap. He was worked up about something, “I can’t tell ‘im what happened, jus’...please.”

“All right.” Madison knelt next to him and gently removed his bandages. Both of his wounds had a few stitches that needed to be redone. She grimaced at the sight, dreading what she was about to do, “Oh Daryl, this is going to hurt. Are you sure you want me to do this, I have no clue what I’m doing. You’re going to scar.”

“Got plenty of ‘em already, better than facin’ Hershel,” he said.

Madison shook her head and went to work, cleaning the wounds the best she could and started stitching, “What happened?”

Daryl winced at the pain, “Got mad an’ threw a saddle.”

She looked up at him, mouth open, “A saddle? That’s why you didn’t want Hershel involved? Because you were taking one of his horses again? Unbelievable!” She shook her head in disbelief and continued stitching, “Why are you so determined to get yourself killed?”

With a grunt, Daryl replied, “Yer startin’ t’sound like Carol, sayin’ I ain’t strong ‘nough an’ shouldn't be goin’ out there. Ya know she said she don’t think I’ll find ‘er girl?” He gripped the edge of his cot so tightly his knuckles turned white as he tried to hide the pain he was in.

“Is that why you got mad? Carol thinks the world of you; I don’t think she said that she doubted your ability, even though that’s what you heard. She’s tired and scared, she’s bound to have her bad days and wonder if Sophia is still alive, but that’s not a reflection on you.” Daryl rolled his eyes at her and Madison sighed before adding, “I know you don’t want to hear it, but she’s right. You can’t go out, not like this. We were lucky yesterday that we got back okay; it was stupid of us both to go out alone and injured. You can’t find Sophia if you get yourself killed...and...and I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here.”

Daryl looked down at her, hoping to catch her eyes. She’d made comments like that before and he never knew what to say or if they were even true. His eyes were boring into her, but she ignored them and focused on the last of the stitches. The silence in the tent became deafening and Daryl swallowed before saying in a low, gravelly whisper, “Don’t worry. Ya’ll never have t'find out.”

A small smile crept across Madison’s face as she taped some fresh gauze over his stitches, “Okay, you’re done. Please be careful this time. I’m sure these won’t hold like others.” She stood and put away her things and grabbed a bottle of water and washed his blood off her hands. She looked out the tent door and saw Carol walk past, “There goes Carol. You should go make nice with her. Deep down, I think you know she didn’t mean what she said. She’s just scared.”

Daryl groaned as he stood, still in pain, “Fine.” Madison handed him the bottle of water she’d been using to wash her hands and one of the pills he’d given her a few days ago. Grateful, he took the pill and washed it down with the water. He stepped outside and held the flap open for Madison as she followed him out of his tent. She started walking back to her tent and he called after her, “Hey!” She stopped and turned to look at him. He couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact with her, looking down sheepishly at his shoes, “Thanks, Maddie.” He stole a quick glance at her before sauntering off after Carol.

She smiled after him and then went to drop her things off in her tent and clean her hands off better than she’d been able to in Daryl’s tent. After her hands were clean she rejoined Lori and Carl. “Sorry about that,” she said to Lori then she looked at Carl and asked, “Are you still on math or what are we working on?”

“Is everything okay?” Lori asked. Madison nodded and leaned in to look at Carl’s paper, ending the conversation.

Once Lori decided that they’d done enough school work for the day, Madison stood up and stretched. It was Lori’s night to fix dinner for the group and with nothing else to do, Madison volunteered to wash, peel, and chop some potatoes the Greene’s had given them. It was quiet in camp until Shane showed up yelling at Glenn about Dale and asking where he went. Madison shook her head, not wanting to get involved. After Shane left, Glenn abandoned watch and went to the farmhouse to spend some time with Maggie. Finished with the potatoes and with nothing to do again, Madison sat back and enjoyed the quiet. She saw T-Dog and Andrea walking across the fields to the house, and wondered if she should join the rest of the group. A pair of footsteps came up behind her and she swung her head around, relieved to see Daryl and Carol coming back. Daryl nodded to Madison as he got closer. “What’s going on over there?” Carol asked.

“I don’t know, at first I thought they were just over there relaxing, but now I’m not so sure,” Madison answered, pointing out Andrea and T-Dog.

“They ain’t left yet?” Daryl snarled, making his way to the farmhouse, Madison and Carol not far behind.

As the three of them got closer they could hear Andrea say, “We were supposed to leave a couple of hours ago.”

“Yeah ya were. What the hell?” Daryl asked as they approached.

“Rick told us he was going out,” Carol stated.

“Dammit, isn’t anybody takin' this seriously? We got us a damn trail,” Daryl fumed, gesturing angrily towards the forest.

“Did anyone see where Rick went? There are still several good hours of daylight left, at least some ground could still get covered,” Madison suggested.

Looking out at the farm, Daryl saw Shane walking up to the house, “Oh, here we go.” Glad to see someone to take charge, he walked out to meet Shane. “What’s all this?” he asked, pointing to the guns Shane had in his hands.

“You with me, man?”

“Yeah,” Daryl agreed, taking a shotgun from Shane.

“Time to grow up,” Shane called to the group.

“Thought we couldn’t carry?” T asked Shane as he handed out guns like candy.

“We can and we have to,” Shane replied. “Look, it was one thing sittin' around here pickin' daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe, but now we know it ain’t.” Shane pushed a handgun into Madison’s empty hands.

“It’s safe enough for now, this isn’t how to go about this, Shane. I want no part of it," Madison spoke up, knowing she was in the minority and rejecting the gun Shane gave her.

Daryl shot her a withering look, “Jus’ take the gun, Madison.”

Shane ignored her protest and turned to Glenn, “How about you, man? You gonna protect yours?” Glenn took a gun, looking at Maggie. “That’s it,” Shane said with approval. “Can you shoot?” he asked Maggie.

“Can you stop? You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight,” Maggie threatened.

Lori walked up to the group in time to see Shane handing a gun to Carl, she rushed towards him and pushed Carl back and away from Shane, “Rick said no guns, this is not your call. This is not your decision to make.”

T-Dog directed everyone’s attention across the field to Hershel, Jimmy, and Rick leading two walkers from the woods on snare poles. Shane took off at full speed running towards them with Daryl only a few steps behind and the rest of the group trailing them, trying to get Shane to stop. “What the hell you doin’?” Shane shouted at Rick.

“Shane, just back off,” Rick warned.

“Why do your people have guns?” Hershel asked, missing the bigger picture of what was happening.

“Are you kiddin' me? You see? You see what they’re holdin' on to?” Shane was out of control, trying to work the group up with him. Daryl had his gun up, ready to shoot; not in a frenzy like Shane, but calmly, ready to do what had to be done if things went south.

“I see who I’m holdin’ on to,” Hershel countered.

“No, man, you don’t!” Shane screamed. “These things ain’t sick. They’re not people! They’re dead. Ain’t gotta feel nothin' for them ‘cause all they do, they kill! These things, right here! They’re the things that killed Amy. They killed Otis and Ally, they’re gonna kill all of us!” Shane looked from person to person, trying to get someone on his side by making it personal and bringing up dead loved ones.

“Shane, shut up!” Rick yelled, only able to use words to try and talk his former partner off the ledge.

“Hey, Hershel, man, let me ask you something. Could a livin’, breathin’ person, could they walk away from this?” Without warning he shot three rounds into the walker at the end of Hershel’s snare pole. Madison covered her mouth, appalled by what she was seeing. “That’s three rounds in the chest,” Shane announced. “Could someone who’s alive, could they just take that?! Why’s it still comin’?”

“Stop it!” Rick hollered as Shane shot it two more times.

“Shane! Stop it! You’ve made your point!” Madison yelled.

“That’s its heart, its lungs. Why’s it still comin’?” Shane fired three more shots.

“Shane! Enough!” Rick yelled.

“Yeah, you’re right, man. That is enough,” Shane told Rick, striding up to the walker and shooting it once more in the head, dropping it to ground. Hershel fell to his knees, shocked by what he’d just seen. Shane’s tirade continued, “Enough riskin' our lives for a little girl who’s gone! Enough livin' next to a barn full of things that are tryin' to kill us. Enough! Rick, it ain’t like it was before! Now, if y’all wanna live, if you wanna survive, you gotta fight for it! I’m talkin’ about fightin’ right here, right now.” With that, Shane ran towards the barn doors.

“Take the snare pole! Hershel. Hershel! Take the snare pole!” Rick desperately tried to get the older man to take the walker in his hands so he could stop Shane from doing the unthinkable and opening the barn. “Hershel, listen to me, man. Please! Take it now, Hershel! Take it!” Helpless, Rick turned to Shane who was taking a pickaxe to the barn, “No, Shane. Do not do this, brother. Wait!”

Everyone was yelling at Shane to stop, but he tuned them out, only caring about clearing the barn. When he broke the lock and lifted the board from the door he stepped back, yelling into the barn, “Come on, come on, we’re out here!” He backed up some more, cocked his gun and prepared for the dam to break. Andrea was the first to break from the group and join Shane on the front lines, followed by Daryl, who looked back at Madison to make sure she was out of immediate danger. The first walker broke free from the barn and Shane was the first to shoot. Soon it was a steady stream of walkers and bullets were flying. Everyone with a gun stepped up to protect the living.

Madison joined Daryl, firing next to him. He glanced over to her and shouted, “Get b'hind me!” She fell back a few steps and kept shooting. Time stood still for Madison and she thought the massacre would never come to an end. Eventually the last two walkers exited the barn and Shane and Daryl shot them. 

Madison looked out at the carnage in front of her in horror; she knew the bodies before her weren’t people, still she didn’t feel right about what had just happened. She pressed the back of her right hand to her mouth suppressing her urge to either sob or vomit, she wasn’t sure which. She wasn’t aware that Daryl was next to her until she felt his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and could barely hear him ask if she was okay over the ringing in her ears. Daryl’s head whipped around at a sound she couldn’t hear and despair fell across his face. She followed his gaze back to the barn as one more walker, a little girl, stepped into the light. Madison turned back to look at Daryl and from the look in his eyes she knew that this was Sophia. She reached for his hand, “Oh no,” she breathed, “Daryl, I’m so sorry.” He looked down at her, his eyes brimming with tears, and held her hand tightly.

“Sophia? Sophia!” Carol sobbed, repeating her child’s name as she rushed towards her, Daryl barely released Madison’s hand in time to catch Carol and keep her from running to her daughter. Carol’s legs gave out from under her and Daryl lowered her to the ground, sinking with her; still holding on to her tightly, afraid she’d break free. Madison knelt behind them, placing one hand on Carol’s shoulder and the other on Daryl’s.

Everyone around them had frozen; no one could bring themselves to shoot Sophia, not even Shane who had started the whole thing. Rick stepped forward, knowing what had to be done. He raised his gun and hesitated for a moment, looking for the strength to pull the trigger. Madison squeezed Carol’s shoulder and moved her other hand off Daryl’s shoulder and wrapped her arm around his chest, trying to be there for him the best she could. Madison saw the determination in Rick’s eyes and knew he was about to end Sophia’s life once and for all. “Don’t look. Close your eyes, both of you,” she pleaded. Carol squeezed her eyes shut, but Daryl kept his open; he needed to see, he needed to watch it happen to know it was real. A single shot rang out and Sophia’s body fell to the ground.

Carol’s sobs wracked her entire body as Daryl pulled her to her feet, wanting to get her away from the sight of her daughter’s rotten corpse limp in the dirt. “Don’t look,” he directed, “Don’t look.”

Once she was able to stand on her own, Carol shoved Daryl off of her, knocking him off balance and into Madison. Carol turned on him like an injured animal, “If you had spent your time looking for Sophia instead of screwing around with her,” she screamed at the top of her lungs, jabbing an accusatory finger at Madison, “If you had just stayed focused, then my little baby would still be alive. You chose a stranger over one of us.” Carol paused, tears taking control again, “You said you were going to find her. You promised me.” Unable to speak anymore, Carol ran away from the barn, weeping.

Madison’s cheeks flushed, feeling all eyes on her. She was humiliated by Carol’s implications and sick of Carol labeling her as the reason Daryl didn't find Sophia; now with her outburst everyone would think that, including Daryl.  She whispered to the man standing next to her, “Daryl? She’s mourning, she’s angry, she didn’t mean it.” She timidly reached for him, “Please, say something. Look at me.”

Daryl did as she asked; he looked at her, but pulled away from her touch. His eyes were no longer blue, but a steel gray and cold as he stared at Madison, “Nah, she’s right. She’s right, I did lose focus.” He turned on his heel and stormed away, leaving the barn, the group, and Madison behind him.

She fought to maintain her composure, refusing to give those still watching her more of a show, as she crossed over to Hershel and his family, “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” It seemed so trite, but it was all she could say. Her eyes went from Beth to Hershel, both grief stricken after watching their friends and loved ones slaughtered before their eyes. They were wrong, these things weren’t people, they weren’t sick, they were monsters, but that didn’t justify what happened or how the situation was handled. Something had to be done, yes, but not like this. Maggie nodded through her tears, accepting Madison’s apology on behalf of the rest of her family.

Without warning, Beth broke free from Jimmy’s arms and ran forward, ignoring Rick’s attempt to stop her. She found what used to be her mother in the carnage and went to her, rolling her over so she could say goodbye. The corpse growled and lunged at her, grabbing on to her hair and pulling her in. Everyone ran to Beth’s aid trying to pull the walker off of her. Once Beth was clear, Andrea found a scythe and plunged it through the walker’s skull. Beth was crying even more than before, if that was even possible, clinging to her father. “We need to get her inside,” Maggie stated, guiding her family back towards the house. They were in shock and needed to digest what just happened. Glenn went with them so he could make sure Maggie was doing all right, Rick followed so he could try to talk to Hershel and plead the group's case. Madison watched Shane pace back and forth a few times before chasing after the small group heading to the house. She didn’t even want to know what he was going to do next; they still had to deal with the fallout from his last rash decision.

Feeling the need to do something, Andrea found a blanket in the barn and tenderly covered Sophia with it. Madison followed her lead and found two more blankets; one for Hershel’s wife and one for his stepson. She laid a blanket over the walker that attacked Beth moments ago and looked from corpse to corpse; not knowing which one was Hershel’s stepson. T-Dog was there with the two women, looking for some way to be helpful while Lori and Carl had a heart to heart not far off. Something had to be done with the bodies, but no one was sure what. Dale wandered the scene in a daze. Jimmy returned to help with the bodies and pointed out Shawn, Hershel’s stepson, to Madison and she gently laid the blanket over his body. Shane and Rick made their way back from the house and T asked Rick if they should start burying the bodies.

“We need a service,” Andrea suggested, “Carol would want that.”

Lori added on to Andrea’s idea, “Let’s dig a grave for Sophia, and Annette, and Shawn, over by those trees.” The group nodded in agreement. “And we’ll need a truck for the bodies,” she continued, taking charge for the first time that Madison could remember.

Jimmy looked at the bodies around him, feeling a little overwhelmed, “And the others? That’s a lot of digging.”

Andrea answered for everyone, “We bury the ones we love and burn the rest.”

“Let’s get to work,” Lori commanded and everyone broke apart and found a job to do. Madison picked up a shovel and walked over to the to-be gravesite with Andrea and Jimmy. She was determined to be useful and started digging, quickly realizing it was a mistake, but she was too proud to quit. A few minutes later T-Dog and Shane pulled up in the truck with the three bodies in the bed. T saw Madison struggling and took the shovel from her and started working on the grave she’d started.

Madison noticed that the blankets were coming off the corpses in the trunk so she snagged Lori, who seemed to be looking for a way to help, and the two of them prepared the bodies for burial. They shared a solemn silence as they worked, not feeling that it was right to chit-chat over the dead. Lori and Madison both worked on Annette, Lori focusing on the simple things like Annette’s hair and clothing, while Madison was left with the gruesome task of cleaning the blood off of her. No one would see her once she was covered by the blanket, there would be no viewing or open casket funeral, but Madison didn't feel that meant she deserved to be haphazardly tossed in the ground. Once Annette was ready, Madison worked on Sophia; Lori saying it was too painful for her to get a child ready to be put in the ground. Madison tried her best to smooth Sophia’s hair and straighten her clothes. She gently wiped what blood she could off of the young girl. Looking at Sophia’s tiny body, Madison started to softly cry.

Lori looked up from Shawn, “Sweetie, are you okay?”

Madison nodded, wiping away tears with the back of her bloodstained hands, leaving some blood behind on her cheek, “Yeah. I’m just glad she was found, even like this. I’m glad she gets a funeral.” Her voice cracked and more tears fell, “I’ll never forgive myself for not being able to give my mom or my sister some sort of burial. I can’t stand the thought of what’s become of them.”

“Come here,” Lori said, her maternal instincts coming to the surface as she embraced Madison and let the younger woman cry on her shoulder.

When the bodies were prepared and the graves were finished Lori and Madison set off to find Carol and Daryl and bring them to the service, finally tracking them down in the RV. Before they talked with Carol, Madison asked Lori to wait while she got Annette and Sophia's blood off her hands, wanting to spare Carol the sight of her daughter's blood. Madison rejoined Lori at the RV and she softly knocked before Madison stepped inside. Carol was sitting at the table staring out of the window and Daryl was perched across the way on the counter, staring ahead and twiddling his fingers nervously. He looked up when Madison entered the RV. She wasn’t sure of the reception she’d get from him after the way he left her at the barn, but she risked a quick glance in his direction and saw the warmth had returned to his eyes. He nodded her over to him, scooting farther down the counter so she could sit by him. She sat down and kept her eyes focused on her hands, very aware that she was probably the last person Carol wanted to see right now. She was pulled from her thoughts by Daryl lightly running a finger along the bloodstain on her cheek, “Ya hurt?”

Confused by his question, it took her a second to remember that she’d touched her face when she cried, leaving a trail of blood behind. She cursed herself for forgetting that; she’d been so careful to get the blood off of herself before finding Carol, knowing Sophia’s blood was a visual reminder Carol didn't need to see. Madison shook her head and whispered, “Lori and I cleaned up the bodies.” Daryl raised the corner of his mouth in a sympathetic half-smile.

“They’re ready,” Lori softly announced, reminding Madison of their reason for being there. Carol sighed and shook her head. “Come on,” Lori urged.

“Why?” Carol asked.

“‘Cause that’s yer lil’ girl,” Daryl softly replied.

Carol looked at Daryl, “That’s not my little girl. That’s some other...thing.”

“I know that thing that came out of the barn wasn’t Sophia, but it used to be,” Madison commented.

“My Sophia was alone in the woods,” Carol spoke, not really hearing Madison’s argument. “All this time I thought… She didn’t cry herself to sleep. She didn’t go hungry. She didn’t try to find her way back. Sophia died a long time ago.” Daryl tensed as Carol spoke, her words cutting like razor blades, highlighting how he’d failed her.

“She may have died a long time ago, but for you she just died today. Don’t you want to say goodbye?” Madison pressed. Carol didn’t answer or even look at Madison. Lori silently backed out of the RV and Madison stood to go, nudging Daryl, pulling him out of his thoughts. He rose, wanting to say something to Carol, but changed his mind and followed Madison out of the RV instead. The three of them walked to the gravesite in silence, Daryl’s temper on a low boil after Carol refused to come to the service for her own child. Madison wanted to do something for him, but she knew that space would do more for him than words that would sound hollow to him. She'd learned that Daryl needed time when he was upset and hoped that he’d come to her when, and if, he wanted to let someone in. For now all she could do was walk beside him, hoping her presence alone would let him know she was there for him.

Lori, Madison, and Daryl joined the line of mourners at the graves; Lori stood by Rick and held Carl close while Daryl and Madison stood at the end, separate from the rest. The service was simple and heartfelt, like Otis’ had been. Hershel asked that everyone join in singing Annette’s favorite hymn, Amazing Grace. Very few from Madison’s group joined in singing, not many among them believing in a Higher Power. Daryl watched Madison from the corner of his eye as she sang; everything in his life had told him that God either didn’t exist or just didn’t care enough for the Dixons to make Himself known, but whatever the case, listening to Madison sing was the first time he’d felt peace through religion and could maybe see what all the fuss was about.

After the song, people took turns honoring the dead. Madison listened as those around her shared heartfelt stories and said their final goodbyes. She noticed that Hershel had changed and was dressed in a suit for his wife and her heart broke for him. She looked down the row of people, it looked so incomplete without Carol there; Madison tried to see the situation from Carol’s perspective, but she knew one day, after the shock and anger wore off, Carol would regret not being at her daughter’s funeral. As the others spoke she couldn’t stop the images of Ally and her mom from running through her head and took this moment to mentally say goodbye to her family. They may not have gotten the funeral they deserved, but she felt better giving them some kind of funeral service, even if it was only in her mind.

The service was winding down and Madison had some thoughts gnawing in the back of her mind demanding to be released. She looked at the Greenes and their people and saw the struggle on their faces as they tried to wrap their minds around how wrong they’d been to believe the walkers were simply sick. She then caught a glimpse of Daryl, whose face was getting darker and harder by the second. She could see the guilt and self-loathing eating away at him. She had always felt that funerals weren’t really for the dead, they were for the living to give them peace and closure and those around her needed peace now more than ever.

Before she could stop herself, Madison asked if she could say a few words. As the newcomer to the group, who had never met those who had been buried earlier, her request was met by confused looks. Rick looked to Hershel who nodded in consent, before he gave her a permissive nod. Madison took a deep breath before speaking, choosing her words carefully, hoping they would touch those around her, “As you all know, I haven’t been a part of this group for very long and I never had the good fortune of meeting any of those we honor today, but it’s clear they were loved, deeply. To me, that speaks volumes about who they were. To be loved so completely that those they left behind are willing to believe in miracles,” she cast her eyes to Hershel and his family, “and to try to move mountains,” she quickly glanced at Daryl, “in hopes of being with them again, I think that’s beautiful. It’s easy to let grief cripple you, but that’s not the life they’d want for us. They’d want us to keep believing in miracles and trying to move mountains; they’d want their memory to inspire us to move forward and keep fighting. I never knew them, but I thank God for them, for letting them be with us and touch our lives. Even though I never met them, I have been touched by them, because they made everyone here who they are today. You are their legacy, and I’m grateful to them for that.”

Madison fell silent, hoping that she helped someone there. The service concluded with a moment of silence for the deceased and then the group slowly dissipated as everyone returned to what was now normal life. Daryl stayed where he was, staring and the three graves in front of him. Madison turned to him, “Hey. How are you holding up after...everything?”

“I’m fine,” Daryl replied tersely, not looking away from where Sophia was laid to rest.

“I’ll pretend I believe you. Daryl, if you need anything, I hope you know you can come to me,” she offered as she took a step back and started to turn back towards camp.

“Ya know what I need?” Daryl asked, finally looking at her and taking a few angry steps towards her, “I need ya t’leave me the hell alone an’ get it through yer thick skull that y'ain’t my problem!” He spit on the ground as he stormed away, throwing a few final bitter words over his shoulder at Madison, “An’ I sure as hell ain’t yers.”

He didn’t know where exactly he was going; Daryl only knew he needed to get away from people and away from Madison. He didn’t deserve the kindness she continually showed him; he was a failure and better off alone. He tried to shut out the words of her speech at the gravesite, knowing they were, in part, meant for him. It unnerved him that she had such insight to how he was feeling when he could barely figure it out himself. He wanted to believe that Sophia’s death wasn’t his fault, but he couldn’t see how the blame was on anyone but him. Carol was right; he had made her a promise and didn’t deliver. ‘Well, that ain’t never gonna happen again,' he told himself. Daryl knew what to do now and he stalked back to camp. There was some sort of commotion at the house and camp was mostly deserted, so he quickly took down his tent, packed up his things and moved far away from camp; far away from people wanting things from him, far away from people who judged him, and far away from the person who cared about him more than he deserved.

Madison slowly trudged her way to the farmhouse. A group had started moving the rest of the walkers off site to burn, but Madison didn’t stick around to help; she’d had her fill of death for the day. She dropped onto the porch steps, enjoying the cool shade and trying desperately to forget what had just happened with Daryl. She tried to convince herself that it was like the night they were on watch together; that his temper got the better of him and he’d turn up later and try to make it okay, but she knew this time was different. There was a rage inside of him that she knew wouldn’t be cured by a few hours alone, not this time. She blinked back a few tears, ‘Did I really just lose Daryl?’ Her train of thought derailed when she heard Glenn yelling at her from inside the house.

Madison bolted inside to see Glenn carrying Beth, limp as could be, up the stairs with Maggie not far behind. “What happened?” Madison asked anyone who would answer.

“I don’t know,” Maggie explained, trying not to panic, “She was in the kitchen and just collapsed. We can’t find my dad; I don’t know what to do.”

Glenn set Beth down on her bed and Maggie ran to her side immediately, trying to get her little sister to respond to her. Madison looked out the window and saw Lori walking by and called out to her to find Rick, they needed help. Rick and Shane went through Hershel’s things, looking for clues to where he would have gone and found a flask. Rick decided that Hershel might have gone into town looking for more to drink and asked Glenn to come with him while he looked for Hershel. Maggie left her sister’s side just long enough to say goodbye to Glenn before coming back to check on her. Patricia did what she could, but was out of her depth, and Madison stayed with Patricia to offer a helping hand where she could.

Hours later, Lori came in to check on Beth and speak to Madison, pulling her out into the hallway. “Rick’s not back yet. It shouldn’t take them this long to find Hershel. I’m getting worried, it’ll be dark soon. Do you think Daryl will run to town and bring them back?”

“I honestly don’t know. To say he’s not handling today very well in an understatement. Why don’t you ask Shane?” Madison suggested.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Lori stated. “Can you at least ask Daryl?”

“Trust me, you don’t want me to ask, he'll just flat out refuse. But I can go with you when you ask.” The two women raced to camp to find Daryl’s tent gone. Madison’s heart fell to the pit of her stomach thinking he’d run off on his own like he wanted to after his accident in the woods. Then Madison noticed the tire tracks from his motorcycle and saw a campsite in the distance.

They followed the tracks to Daryl’s new camp and found him sitting next to a crumbling stone fireplace, making new bolts for his crossbow. “Moving to the suburbs?” Lori asked, annoyed, as they got closer to him. He looked up, irritated by the uninvited guests, but said nothing. “Listen, Beth’s in some kind of catatonic shock, we need Hershel.”

“Yeah, so what?” Daryl asked, focusing on the bolt in his hands.

Lori changed her tone and sweetly asked, “So I need you to run into town real quick and bring him and Rick back.” He ignored her. “Daryl?”

He glared at her before saying, “Yer bitch went window-shoppin'. Ya want ‘im? Fetch ‘im yerself.” He went back to sharpening the arrow in his hand, “I got better things t’do.”

“Better things like playing with a stick? What's your problem?” Madison snapped. Daryl didn’t respond, he didn’t even look up, just continued working. He'd known it would only be a matter of time before she turned on him too.

“What’s the matter with you? Why would you be so selfish?” Lori chided him.

Lori’s words plucked his last nerve and he went off on her, “Selfish? Listen t’me, Olive Oyl, I was out lookin’ fer that lil’ girl every single day! I took a bullet an’ an arrow in the process, don’t ya tell me ‘bout gettin’ my hands dirty! Ya want those two idiots? Have a nice ride; I’m done lookin’ fer people.”

Lori was momentarily taken aback by his outburst and then the shock gave way to anger and she stormed off. Madison stayed with Daryl, although she wasn’t sure why. “What has she ever done to you?”

“Now yer gonna lay in on me too? Yer just like the rest of ‘em, all nice t’my face when ya need somethin’, but thinkin’ the whole time what a prick I am. Always knew ya'd turn on me when ya found a place in camp. What’re ya even doin' here anyway? This don’t concern you. Why can’t ya leave well ‘nough alone an’ stop stickin’ yer damn nose in everybody’s business? Ya got no reason t’be here still, so why don’t ya jus’ go? I stuck my neck out fer ya an’ look where it’s got me? Jus’ get outta here, I’m sick of lookin’ at ya.”

Madison turned and marched towards camp, repeating in her mind, over and over, ‘He doesn’t mean it. He can’t process pain or disappointment through anything besides anger, he doesn’t mean it.’ She was mad, she was hurt, but she wasn’t going to let him be right about her. She was going to stick by his side like she promised, no matter what. She reached camp and tore down her tent, gathered her things, and made her way back towards Daryl’s camp. She dropped her stuff about thirty yards away from him, not wanting to be right on top of him, but not wanting to be totally isolated for her own safety. Surely he wouldn't let a walker get her even though he was angry with her, she reasoned with herself. He looked up at the noise of her trying to set up her tent and angrily strode to her; she braced herself for what was coming.

“What part of ‘I’m sick of lookin’ at ya’ didn’t ya get? What the hell d’ya think yer doin’?” he yelled, “I tell ya t’leave me be an’ ya hear move next door? Are ya deaf’r jus’ stupid? Are ya tryin’ t'get yerself killed, movin’ away from e’eryone?”

She didn’t look at him as she curtly replied, “I’ll be fine; I can take care of myself.”

“Take care of yerself? Ya can’t protect yerself an' can barely shoot. Yer injured. If a walker came by ya’d be dead in ten seconds. Hell, ya’d be one of ‘em if I hadn’t heard ya screamin’ that day,” he fumed, taking another step towards her.

“Hey! If I remember correctly I saved your sorry butt that morning too,” Madison was getting riled up and took several steps towards Daryl. “How about a little credit?”

Daryl sneered, “Get outta here, stupid girl, I don’t want ya hangin’ ‘round me no more! Y’ain’t my problem! I don’t wanna be ‘round anyone from this broke group, it's poison.” He turned to leave.

Madison yelled after him, stopping him in his tracks, “No! You’re mad about Sophia, you’re hurting, I get that, but I am not going to let you pull away. This broken group, it needs you. I need you.” Daryl turned and glared at Madison, “Listen, if you want me gone, you are going to have to pick me up and carry me out of here because I’m not going anywhere, so shut up and deal with it, Dixon!” Madison didn’t wait for a response and went back to pitching her tent, proud of herself for getting the final word in. Daryl went back to his camp without a word, fuming. He had to work extremely hard to be angry at Madison’s devotion, rather than touched by it. Madison felt his eyes on her the rest of the time she was setting up camp, but would not give him the satisfaction of acknowledging him. After several failed attempts, she finally got her tent up and went inside without another word to Daryl.

Madison laid down to rest her ribs after straining herself all day, she hadn’t intended to, but she fell asleep. Two hours later her stomach growled so loudly that it woke her up. She groaned as she sat up, torn between wanting to eat and wanting to sleep. Her stomach growled again, making up her mind for her, and she left her tent and wandered towards Daryl’s camp to see if he wanted anything to eat; another phase in her plan to prove him wrong about her. As she neared his camp, Carol ran past Madison, not seeing her in the dark. Carol reached Daryl first, but Madison was close enough that she could overhear Carol announce, “We can’t find Lori and the others aren’t back yet either.”

Daryl was sitting by a fire, stoking it with a stick, he didn’t look up at Carol, “Yeah, that dumb bitch must’ve gone off lookin’ fer ‘em.”

“What?”

“Yeah, she asked me t’go, I told ‘er I was done bein’ an errand boy.”

Carol was dumbstruck, “And you didn’t say anything?” Madison caught up and stood on the outskirts of Daryl’s camp, not wanting to get in the middle of their conversation. She saw Daryl poke at the fire; a guilty expression flickered across his features as Carol walked away from him. She saw Madison, but didn’t acknowledge her. Carol paused and walked back to Daryl. “Don’t do this. Please,” she begged, “I’ve already lost my girl.”

Daryl stood up, throwing his stick to the ground, “That wasn’t my problem neither.” He stormed away from Carol and into his tent.

Carol hung her head and left, this time acknowledging Madison as she passed her, “I hope you have better luck than I did.”

Madison decided against talking to Daryl and turned to leave, tripping over his pile of firewood. Daryl burst out of his tent to investigate the noise, his knife at the ready. He put his knife away when he saw it wasn’t a walker, “How much of that did ya hear? Huh? Gonna give me some sorta lecture, tell me t’go ‘make nice’ with ‘er? D’ya wanna send me off chasin’ after Lori? That woman ain’t nothin’ t’me, Rick ain’t nothin’ t’me. ‘e’s the reason my brother ain’t here now, why should I care what happens t’ ‘em?” She had been hurt by him and she’d been angry with him, but this was the first time Madison had been disappointed in Daryl. She never would’ve guessed that he could be so heartless. She shook her head at him and walked away, making her way to camp to see if Lori had been found. He called after her, “An’ where d’ya think yer goin’? Don’t be dumb ‘nough t'wander off alone at night. Get back here, I know ya can hear me!” Madison continued forward and didn’t look back.

Madison returned to camp and was nearly run over by Shane and he rushed to a nearby car. “Nice of you to join us,” Shane snapped at her. “Better tell that redneck boyfriend of yours that if anythin', an’ I mean anythin', happened to Lori he’s gonna answer to me.” Shane slammed the door and peeled out before Madison could respond. 

She looked around at the anxious faces around her, not sure what to say to improve the situation. “I’m going to go check on Beth,” she announced, looking for a way out of the awkward silence that had fallen over the camp.

She quietly entered the house, not wanting to wake anyone up, not that anyone would be getting much sleep tonight. She knocked on the door to Beth’s room before poking her head in to see Maggie sitting on the edge of Beth’s bed, holding her hand. “How’s she doing?”

Maggie shook her head, “I don’t know. No change, so that’s good. At least she’s not gettin' worse.”

“Yeah, that really is good,” Madison halfheartedly agreed. Both Maggie and Madison knew that they were grasping at straws, Beth was in trouble. They needed Hershel and fast.

Maggie looked exhausted, the events of the day taking their toll on her. “I appreciate you checkin’ in on her, I really do, but I don’t really want to talk about this anymore.”

"Okay," Madison nodded, taking a deep breath before continuing, "That makes me feel a little less like a selfish jerk for asking this then; is there any chance I could snag some food for me and Daryl? After everything with Sophia he moved away from camp and I did too so I don’t feel right taking any supplies from them. He’s mad at the world and at me. He blames himself for what happened to Sophia and Carol blames me for distracting him and I think he’s starting to feel that way too. Lori went looking for Rick and your dad by herself because Daryl wouldn’t go when she asked him and so the group is mad at him for being selfish and…”

“And you think the way to get in good with him again is through a sandwich?” Maggie asked.

Madison chuckled, “Can’t hurt to try, right? He’s being a real tool right now and saying that he knew I’d turn on him one day...I need to prove him wrong.”

“Okay, let’s go see what we can find,” Maggie said as she stood up. She led Madison to the kitchen and busied herself grabbing sandwich fixings. The two women went to work, preparing the food in silence. Maggie was distracted and understandably so and Madison didn’t pressure her into a conversation. Out of nowhere, Maggie blurted, “I told Glenn I love him.”

Shocked by Maggie’s abrupt revelation, Madison exclaimed, “You did? That’s so great!”

“He didn’t say it back.”

“Oh, but that’s okay. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t,” Madison reassured her friend.

“Madison, what’s wrong with me? I barely know the guy, this isn’t normal. I can’t love him.”

“Why not?” Madison shrugged. “The world has changed so much in the past two months, I don’t think the ‘rules’ for falling in love apply anymore. You know, every breath we take could be our last; life is more intense now, so why not love?”

Maggie chewed on Madison’s words for a minute before asking, “Is that how it was for you and Daryl then?”

“What? Are we back on that again? Maggie, you know nothing happened the other night.”

“I know that, but that doesn’t mean you’re not in love just because nothin’ happened.”

Madison laughed; Maggie was being absurd, “No, no, no… No,” she sighed, “We’re not in love. At least he’s not.”

“Oh. I thought...I mean, with all the time you spend together it just seemed like...really? So there’s nothin' goin' on between you two?” Maggie sputtered.

“Really. Nothing.”

“But you wish there was?”

“What? Why? What made you say that?” Madison could feel her cheeks turning red.

Maggie shrugged, enjoying the distraction from all the worries plaguing her mind, “I don’t know. I see the way you look at him and how you two are together. You can’t tell me you’ve never thought about Daryl in that way.” The sound of footsteps carried into the kitchen from the entryway and Madison put a finger to her lips telling Maggie to be quiet. “Hello? Glenn? Daddy?” Maggie called out hopefully. There was no response and her face fell, “Must’ve just been Jimmy.”

Madison warily looked through the kitchen doors before continuing in a hushed whisper, “Okay...I’d be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it...and often. But it doesn’t matter. He’s not the fall in love, have a relationship kind of guy. That’s just not who he is, it’s fine.”

Maggie gave Madison a jovial smirk, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Madison looked puzzled. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you too.”

Madison opened her mouth to ask for some details, but was interrupted by the front door opening and closing, “Who was that?”

“No idea,” Maggie answered with a shrug.

“Do you think they heard, whoever it was?” Madison asked, worried that whoever had been at the door would tell Daryl what they’d overheard.

Maggie shrugged again, “I doubt it. I’ve been down here awhile; I’d better go check on Beth again. Here you go,” she smiled, handing Madison two plates. “I hope it works for you,” she said with a wink before running back upstairs. Madison shook her head, mulling over her conversation with Maggie as she walked out the door and started the trek to her new campsite.

Far ahead of Madison, Daryl rushed back to his camp, his mind racing. He had followed her to make sure nothing happened to her while traipsing across the fields at night; he was frustrated with her, but that didn’t mean he wanted anything to happen to her. He had wanted to avoid Carol and everyone else from the group so he slipped inside the farmhouse and overheard Madison and Maggie talking in the kitchen; every word. He couldn’t wrap his brain around what he’d just heard and he bolted. He’d known for a while that he had feelings for Madison, but he had tried with everything he had to ignore and smother them and keep her at arm’s length. Never in his wildest dreams would he have guessed that she would return his feelings, even after all the horrible things he’d said to her. He got back to camp before Madison and started pacing; he couldn’t handle this right now. He knew he had a decision to make; he either had to man up and act on how he felt or do what he still believed to be best for her and push her away. He didn’t want to pull her down, but he couldn’t stand the thought of losing her either. He knew what he wanted to do, but he didn’t know if he was brave enough to tell her how he felt. He heard someone quietly walk to his camp and turned around, expecting to see Madison, and saw Carol, sticking her nose where it didn’t belong again, and he lost it.

Madison walked slowly to Daryl’s camp, obsessing over her conversation with Maggie with every step. She still didn’t see anything happening with Daryl, but Maggie made her dare to hope. As she got closer she heard Daryl yelling at someone, ‘Crap, not again; who is it this time?’ She jogged the rest of the way to camp and saw him shouting at Carol.

“Ya gonna make this ‘bout my daddy or some crap like that?” Daryl shouted, “Man, ya don’t know jack. Yer afraid, yer afraid ‘cause yer all alone. Ya got no husband, no daughter. Ya don’t know what t’do with yerself. Sophia wasn’t mine!”

Madison couldn’t take his outbursts anymore, “Daryl! That is enough!”

He was too worked up to rein it in, even for Madison. “All ya had t’do was keep an eye on her!” he bellowed at Carol, taking a step forward. She flinched, a reflex from her marriage to Ed.

“Daryl!” Madison screamed. Daryl took a step back from Carol, recoiling from the parts of his father he saw in himself at that moment.

“It’s fine, Madison,” Carol whispered before she walked away with tears in her eyes.

Daryl shot Madison a nasty look and took a seat by the fire. Madison closed her eyes and counted to ten before sitting next to him and handing him a plate of food. Stunned by her offer, he didn’t take the food from her right away and stared at her in confusion. With a huff, Madison held the plate out farther, but Daryl still didn’t take it. “Take the plate Daryl or so help me you’ll be wearing it as a hat,” she growled.

He finally took the food and muttered, “I didn’t ask ya t’do this, I don’t need lookin’ after.”

“I know, I know. You could probably say ‘thank you’ though.”

“Thank ya,” he grumbled.

“You’re welcome.”

They ate in silence, neither sure what to say to the other. Eventually Madison spoke up, “About what happened with Carol…”

“Don’t,” Daryl warned her.

She pressed on anyway, “I know pissed off doesn’t even begin to describe how you’re feeling right now, but you can’t keep taking your anger out on others, especially a woman who lost her daughter today. You don’t have to pull away and banish yourself. You don’t have to punish yourself over this, you know. No one blames you for what happened to Sophia.”

“I do,” Daryl admitted. “I’m the only one here that knows how t’track worth shit an’ I couldn’t keep on ‘er trail. I was the one dumb ‘nough t’get hurt. Shane’s right,” his voice cracked, taking Madison completely by surprise. A few tears escaped his eyes and he angrily wiped them away, sniffing back the rest, “She prob’ly took one look at me, covered in blood an’ dirt, wearin' ears an’ ran in the other direction. Prob’ly right into the walker that got ‘er.”

“That’s not true,” Madison said softly, all anger vanishing, “If Hershel is right and Otis found her and put her in the barn then it wasn’t your fault.”

“Yeah, then that means I spent the better part of a week chasin’ a ghost through the woods. An’ it don’t help havin’ Carol followin’ me ‘round like a sad, beaten puppy...”

“Daryl!”

‘Ya know what I mean, with them sad, puppy eyes,” he tried to explain himself. “She trusted me t’find her lil’ girl an’ I failed her. I screwed up; trackin’ is the one thing I’m good at an’ I couldn’t even do that right. If I’d gone out sooner or longer or...”

Madison hung her head, feeling her own share of the blame in this, “Or didn’t have someone distracting you...”

Daryl looked at her, “Don’t do that, this ain’t on you.” Madison could’ve cried with relief, knowing Daryl didn’t blame her for Sophia the way Carol did. “I’m the weak ass pansy that didn’t get out lookin’ fer ‘er after I fell. I could’ve gone out after the ol’ man stitched me up or earlier yesterday morin’. Waste of skin, redneck trash,” he said out loud, but to himself, “Can’t do nothin' right.”

“Hey, don’t go there,” Madison reassured him. “No one thinks that. You did more for that child than anyone here, even her own mother. You call it a fall? You took a bullet and an arrow for her.” She shook her head and sighed, “I don’t know who did such a good job telling you that you’re worthless, but whoever they are, I hope they’re burning in hell. You’re the best man in this camp. I just wish you could see it.”

He couldn’t look at her while she spoke, certain he’d cry again if he did, so he just stared at the ground in front of him. Madison lightly rubbed his back then timidly put her right arm around him, rested her head on his shoulder, and laid her left hand on his forearm. After a minute he decided to risk looking down at her. “Ya really mean all that, don’t ya Maddie?” he quietly asked her, realizing that the beautiful girl beside him really did see the best in him, the parts that everyone else overlooked, and that she really might love him.

Madison lifted her head off his shoulder, smiling at the return of his nickname for her. “Yeah, I do. Every word. Of course I say best, not perfect,” she teased, meeting his gaze. For a few seconds they sat looking into each other’s eyes by firelight while Daryl tried to work up the courage to tell her that he heard her talking with Maggie. He opened his mouth to speak, but at the last second lost his nerve and instead told her, “I’ll go with ‘em an’ look fer Rick an’ Lori in the mornin’.”

She smiled at him, “Thank you. Try and get some rest, okay?” She stood up and headed in the direction of her tent.

He called out after her, “An’ I’ll talk t’Carol t'morrow too.”

Her smile widened, “Thank you.”

Daryl was kicking himself for not saying something about what he overheard. He wasn’t ready to confess his feelings yet, but he had to say something to her before the moment passed. “Maddie, I’m sorry fer all the horrible things I said t’ya t’day. Thanks fer not givin’ up on me.”

Madison swallowed the lump in her throat before she responded, “You’re welcome. Thank you for coming back, I missed you.” Their eyes locked once more, trying to convey more than what their words were saying. Madison smiled at him and left for her tent, thinking to herself, ‘Maybe Maggie was right after all.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy cow! Ten chapters! This is nuts! I just want to thank everyone for going on this journey with me and sticking with it. I had fun with this chapter and ended up sacrificing one of my favorite scenes I had plotted out in my head, but it was for the best. I hope this has a little something for everyone and please let me know if you like it or if you see ways for me to improve. On that note I say, enjoy! Same as always, I don't own Daryl or anyone else from TWD, only Madison is mine.

The early morning chill forced Madison awake earlier than she wanted. She squeezed her eyes shut, ignoring the cold, and tried to catch hold of the dream slipping away from her; a dream where her blue-eyed redneck shared her feelings and made it known by kissing her softly by the warm glow of the campfire they shared, rather than announcing he'd go looking for Rick in the morning. The dream faded away, despite her efforts to prolong it, and with a huff Madison sat up and pulled her bag closer. She fumbled through it looking for something warm to wear, finding her old, threadbare, forest green zip-up hoodie, teeth chattering all the while. The seasons were definitely changing and that meant it was time to start thinking about how the little group would survive the winter and how Madison would convince Daryl to rejoin the group when bad weather hit; no point in worrying about that now, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

She climbed out of her tent and wrapped her hoodie tightly around her; it would warm up in a few hours, but that didn't help her right now. She strolled over to Daryl’s camp to grab the plates Maggie gave her the night before. Movement caught her attention and, plates forgotten, she looked up and saw Daryl coming from the house, sauntering over to her tent. Even the tough-as-nails Daryl Dixon had succumbed to the chill and covered his ever-exposed, muscular arms, much to Madison's disappointment, opting for a denim jacket and leather vest combo. He stood next to her tent for a moment, one hand on his hip and the other near his mouth, nodding to himself before he reached out and vigorously shook her tent. “Rise an’ shine, Ball Buster,” he called with a chuckle.

Madison shook her head and walked towards him, fighting to hide a smile, “Will you please stop calling me that?”

Daryl did a double take before walking towards her, “What fer?”

"Because you know I hate it."

"Why else d'ya think I keep sayin' it?"

Madison gave up trying to act annoyed and laughed instead. “Some angel," she teased, referencing the wings on the back of his vest. He flipped her off with a wink in response. “Charming,” she giggled, "Where were you off to so early?”

“Talkin’ t’Carol like I told ya last night,” he responded, meeting her halfway between camps, “Hold up, I gotta get my bow, an’ then I’m gonna walk ya back t’the rest.” He passed her and seeing the bewildered look on her face, clarified, “If I'm goin' lookin' fer Rick, y’ain't stayin’ out here alone, what if somethin’ happened t’ya? I’d never fergive myself.” She watched him retrieve his bow, playing his words over in her mind. “C’mon, let’s go,” he instructed when he reached her again.

She fell into step beside him, “Who’s going with you to look for Rick and everyone?”

“Shane an’ Andrea,” Daryl answered, casting a sidelong glance at the woman beside him, “Why?”

Madison frowned, “I don’t trust him. I’m coming with you.”

“Like hell y'are,” he barked, shaking his head, “It’s too dangerous.”

“There’s safety in numbers,” she remarked, “More eyes open, more weapons at the ready.”

“Drop it, y’ain’t comin’.”

“Then you shouldn’t go either, not without someone to watch your back,” Madison insisted.

“What’re ya goin’ on ‘bout? I got them two t’watch my back with the walkers.”

They were almost back at the main camp now, she stopped and grabbed Daryl’s arm, pulling him back so she could make her case once more before getting within earshot of the group. “I’m not talking about walkers. I don’t trust Shane; hear me out,” she pleaded when he rolled his eyes and took another step towards camp, "Something bad’s going to happen when he finds Rick, like what happened with Otis.”

Daryl’s eyes narrowed and he folded his arms across his broad chest as he listened to her, “What d’ya mean ‘somethin’ bad’? What d’ya know ‘bout Otis?”

“I don’t know anything about Otis," Madison admitted, "But my gut says he didn’t die the way Shane said he did. I think they got in a tough spot and Shane sacrificed Otis to save himself. Yesterday Lori said she didn’t think it was a good idea sending Shane out to look for Rick, that’s why she came to you. I think Shane might do something to Rick; he obviously resents Rick for being in charge and I think he's capable of killing to get what he wants.”

Daryl nodded as he mulled Madison’s words over, watching Shane in the distance, “What’s any of that gotta do with me? Sounds like Shane’s beef’s with Rick. ‘e’s an ass, but ‘e ain’t dumb, ‘e wouldn’t try anythin’ with witnesses.”

“It’s easy to get separated from the group in situations like this and with the way the two of you have been at each other’s throats...do you think he’d hesitate to feed you to some walkers so he could get out alive?” Daryl was caught off guard by her suggestion; the thought had never even crossed his mind. He saw the apprehension in Madison’s eyes as she spoke, “Daryl, please don’t go. Last night Shane told me that if anything happens to Lori, you're going to have to answer to him. I'm afraid of what he might do.”

Torn between doing what he needed to do to make amends with the group and easing Madison's mind, he groaned, “I can’t jus' back out now, Maddie.”

“Then I’m coming with you,” she stated, leaving no room for debate.

Daryl didn't like the idea of putting her in harm's way, but could see this was one argument he wasn't going to win and he unenthusiastically agreed, “Fine, but if ya come, ya gotta stay close. If yer right, I don’t want ya alone with ‘im neither.” Daryl placed his hand on the small of Madison’s back and guided her forward, keeping a wary eye on Shane.

The two of them joined Shane at the car and started loading the supplies for the rescue mission. “Look who finally decided to show up,” Shane scoffed.

“We ain’t tryin’ t'start nothin’ Shane, we jus’ wanna help find Rick an’ Lori an' the rest of ‘em.” Daryl explained, trying to keep his temper in check.

Shane forcefully threw a bag in the trunk of the car, “Well lucky for you, Lori’s back; no thanks to your lazy ass. I went and got her last night. ‘Course she’s covered in scratches and bruises from a car accident she wouldn’t have been in if you’d been a man and gone to town when she asked you.” Shane stepped close to Daryl, challenging him to argue. Daryl clenched his fists, ready to strike. The tension was unbearable; both men longing for the other to give him a reason to start throwing fists. 

Madison nudged Daryl and shook her head when he finally looked at her, silently telling him this wasn’t worth a fight. “At least she’s back in one piece, that’s all that matters,” she interjected, attempting to stop the fight before it started. Andrea walked up and put some of her gear in the trunk, unwittingly putting an end to the would-be brawl. The roar of an engine grabbed their attention and soon a red and white SUV came into view. When Rick, Hershel, and Glenn got out of the car, Madison sighed with relief and whispered to Daryl, “Looks like the trip’s off.”

Everyone congregated to welcome the three missing men. Maggie ran towards them, exclaiming, “You’re okay,” and rushed past Hershel, throwing her arms around Glenn. Madison stifled a laugh at Hershel’s confused face.

T-Dog was the first to notice the fourth person in the car, “Who the hell's that?”

“That’s Randall,” Glenn stated matter-of-factly, offering no further explanation.

Daryl and Madison, along with everyone else, took a few curious steps forward to see the newcomer. “Ah hell Rick, 'e’s jus’ a kid. Why ya got this guy blindfolded?” Daryl asked the former sheriff; something wasn’t right, he just wasn’t sure what.

Rick sighed and motioned Daryl over to him. Madison followed, as did Shane. Lori told Carl to go find Carol so Rick could speak freely. He inhaled deeply before speaking, “Things got ugly in town. There was another group scavengin' and it got heated, there was a shootout; three of their men died.”

Lori gasped and covered her mouth and Shane was getting worked up again, running his hand over his buzzed head. Madison took a beat to let this information sink in. “Randall’s group were the ones shooting at you,” she deduced.

Rick nodded, “Randall was shootin' at us too; he fell off a roof and impaled his leg on a fence. We couldn’t leave him there for the walkers so we ripped him free and threw him in the car.”

“And then you brought him right to our door? Don’t you think his buddies are gonna come lookin’ for him?” Shane snarled.

Rick stood his ground, “His ‘buddies’ left him for dead, nobody’s comin’ for him.” Madison ran her hands through her hair, clasping them together behind her neck, and chewed her bottom lip, the full weight of the situation settling on her. She closed her eyes, focusing on breathing and felt a hand brush hers and land on her shoulder; she didn’t have to look to know who the hand belonged to and she felt herself relax a little.

Daryl stood beside her, calmly looking at Rick, taking his revelation in stride. “S'what now?” he asked. “We got people t'protect, we need a plan.”

“I agree,” Rick replied. “Hershel's fixin’ Randall’s leg and when he can walk we’ll drop him off somewhere far from here.” Daryl nodded in approval.

Shane held his hand to his head in the shape of a gun. “Or we find a more permanent solution,” he hinted, pulling his finger like a trigger for emphasis.

“Or we give him a chance,” Madison challenged Shane, folding her arms. “He’s just a kid. We could take him in, he might be an asset.”

“You can’t be serious? Unbelievable!” Shane huffed as he strode away.

“I’m gonna check up the road a ways; make sure no one comes lookin’ fer ‘im,” Daryl volunteered, giving Madison’s shoulder a quick squeeze before leaving.

“Come on,” Rick instructed, putting an arm around his wife and giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head, “The rest of the group needs to know, and I’d like to give my side of the story before Shane starts runnin' his mouth.”

Once inside, Madison stood against the wall next to Maggie as everyone else trickled in. Rick calmly and briefly explained the events of the previous night and how Randall came to be at the farm. “We couldn’t just leave him behind,” he reasoned, “He would’ve bled out, if he lived that long. It’s gotten bad in town.”

Andrea spoke first, “What do we do with him?”

“I repaired his calf muscle as best I can,” Hershel informed Rick as he entered the room, “But he’ll probably have nerve damage; won’t be on his feet for at least a week.”

“When he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way,” Rick answered Andrea.

“Isn’t that the same as leaving him for the walkers?” she countered.

The front door opened and Daryl slipped inside and joined the discussion. Madison looked over her shoulder to see who walked in and gave him a small smile when he entered the room; he nodded to her in return, leaning against the door frame. She turned back to Rick, catching Carol smiling at Daryl. Madison tried to focus on Rick as he spoke, but jealousy won out and her eyes kept darting to Carol.

“He’ll have a fighting chance,” Rick replied.

Shane finally spoke up, it was shocking to Madison that he'd managed to stay quiet for so long, “Just gonna let him go? He knows where we are.”

“He was blindfolded the whole way here, he’s not a threat,” Rick defended his decision.

“Not a threat, how many of them were there?” Shane demanded. “You killed three of their men, you took one of them hostage, but they just ain’t gonna come lookin'?”

“They left him for dead. No one is lookin',” Rick assured Shane.

“We should still post a guard,” T suggested.

“He’s out cold right now, will be for hours,” Hershel explained.

“Better t'have someone watchin' 'im early on so 'e don't come to an' catch us with our asses hangin' out," Daryl interjected, catching Hershel's disapproving glare at his language. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I’ll watch ‘im first,” Daryl offered, trying to step up and be the man Madison believed him to be.

Shane scoffed, “You know what? I’m gonna go get him some flowers and candy. Look at this folks, we back in fantasyland!”

Shane’s outburst plucked Hershel’s last nerve, “You know, we haven’t even dealt with what you did at my barn yet.” Madison and Maggie shared a stunned look at Hershel’s flare up. “Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all; this is my farm. Now I wanted you gone, Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. So do us both a favor, keep your mouth shut.”

Shane left the house with a sneer. Everyone watched him leave and an awkward silence filled the room. Rick crossed the room to Hershel. “We’re not gonna do anythin' about it today. Let’s just cool off,” he addressed the group, unceremoniously ending the meeting.

As soon as she was able, Maggie rushed to Glenn, hoping to finish their conversation from the previous day. Madison stayed where she was, letting everyone filter out around her. Daryl moved closer to her and commented in a low voice, “Who knew the ol’ man had that in ‘im?”

Madison chuckled and opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again when Carol came and stood next to Daryl, looking at him expectantly. He rolled his eyes and walked away from the two women and out of the house without another word. Carol followed him outside and Madison followed Carol. She was heading down the porch steps after him when Madison called out to her, “Better to just let him go.” Madison wasn’t trying to keep Carol away from Daryl for selfish reasons, but something was gnawing at him and she couldn't stand the thought of him yelling at Carol again. “I take it your talk didn’t go well this morning?”

“You put him up talking to me?” Carol asked, climbing the porch steps towards Madison making her feel like she was on the defense.

“No, that was his decision. He just mentioned earlier that he talked to you.”

“You need to stop enabling him, you know? I tried to convince him to come back to the group this morning and he refused; said he has everything he needs right where he is. Are you happy now that you’ve alienated him from the people who care about him?” Carol snapped.

“You mean the people who care about him so much, but didn’t even bother to check on him when he got shot?” Madison fumed. “I’m not trying to alienate him; I’m trying to keep him connected so he doesn’t do something stupid and go off on his own. Right now he needs space to cool off and time to sort things out. What he doesn’t need is someone smothering him trying to prove to him how much he’s needed.”

“Given the choice I’d rather be a little smothering than toxic like you.”

“Excuse me?” Madison hissed, pulling herself to her full height and folding her arms.

“I can’t help but notice how everything has started crumbling since you got here, how everyone is at each other's throats. Daryl is pulling away from the group because of you and you’re doing nothing to help the situation, you’re only making it worse by supporting his decision to break away. And let’s not forget how much time he wasted traipsing around with you that he should’ve spent looking for Soph…”

Aggravated, Madison’s raised her hands to either side of her face and stared at Carol with an open mouth. With a humorless laugh and a shake of the head, she interrupted, “Are we really back to this? Stop blaming me for everything, I'm sick of it! My being here never stopped Daryl from risking his life to save your child. Maybe it's time for you to stop placing blame on everyone else and, maybe, save some of it for yourself. What kind of mother sits back and lets other people look for her kid while she does nothing?"

"I did my part!"

"Right, sitting next to a parked car on an abandoned highway once is the same as spending countless hours combing through the walker infested forest day after day. Even Shane went out looking for Sophia more than once and he thought she was dead from the start!"

Madison saw the pain in Carol's eyes and realized she crossed the line. She took a step back and hung her head; how did she get here, fighting with Carol this way? She had nothing against Carol and truly did enjoy her company when Carol wasn’t using her as an emotional punching bag. She’d told Daryl enough times to go easy on Carol, that she was grieving, and now she was the one needing to be reminded. “Carol, I’m sorry, that was low. I’m not saying you’re responsible for what happened to Sophia, no one is. I want us to be friends, but I’m just sick and tired of you blaming me for every little thing that’s gone wrong since the moment I got here. I’m just one person; I can’t do that much damage in a just few days. I know a lot has gone wrong and tensions are high, but that’s not on me.”

Rage fell across Carol’s face like a shadow as she held Madison in an icy glare. “Is that what you tell yourself about what happened to your sister?” Carol asked, her voice shaking in anger, “That it’s not on you? You fell asleep on watch that night, right?”

“What? Who told you-how do you know about that?” Madison stammered, feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of her, forgetting that she'd said anything about it on the highway.

“From your own mouth; I overheard you and Daryl talking that night you were on watch, not to mention you told us when he dragged you out of the forest. People have a habit of dying around you, don’t they? Your group. Your fiancé. Your sister. But none of that’s on you, right? Ha, nothing ever is; how nice for you. Keep telling yourself that every time you look for sympathy, but I know better.” Carol knew her words were cutting deep and she knew she’d made her point and should stop; but nothing could stem the words flowing from her mouth, “Your little sister was attacked while you were taking a nap, that’s on you. Daryl had to put an arrow through her skull, that’s on you. Ally is dead, that’s on you.”

It was like Carol had taken a knife and plunged it deep into Madison’s chest, popping open old scars as she did so. Madison was paralyzed, crippled by Carol confirming her deepest fear; that Ally’s death was her fault. She wanted to leave, she wanted to run away, she wanted to be anywhere but where she was, but no amount of convincing could get her feet to move. She stood staring at Carol, unable to move until Carol reached out to her. The contact was enough to snap Madison out of the fog she’d been in; she slapped Carol’s hand away, “Don’t you touch me, don’t even look at me.” She sprinted away from Carol and the audience that had formed without her knowledge. She didn’t know where she was headed, she just ran.

Daryl was leaning against the barn, crossbow in hand, keeping watch on the unconscious Randall, when he saw Madison fly past. He whistled after her; the surprising, shrill sound brought her to a stop. He set his bow down then rounded the corner of the barn and saw her bent forward, bracing herself on her knees; she was breathing heavily and looked pale. Concern overtook him and he ran to her, “Maddie, what’s goin’ on?” She didn’t answer him, but allowed herself to be steered to a hay bale she could sit on. Her silence was scaring Daryl and he stood in front of her and shook her shoulders hoping that would snap her out of it, “Dammit Madison, answer me! What happened?”

To his relief, it worked and Madison finally looked up at him. She faked a smile, “Nothing happened; I’m fine. Just had a little argument with Carol, that’s all.”

“‘Little argument?’ I don’t buy that fer a second, ‘little argument’. Tell me what happened,” Daryl pressed, sitting next to her.

It took several seconds for Madison to decide if she wanted to tell Daryl the truth, or if she could even manage to get the words out. She looked at him and saw the sincere concern in his eyes, concern for her. She knew he would never return her feelings, who would ever fall for someone as broken and, as Carol so succinctly put it, toxic as she was? But be that as it may, Madison couldn’t deny that Daryl cared for her on some level; more so than Charles ever had or anyone else she could remember. Looking in his eyes she couldn’t help but open up to him; with a sigh she explained, “We both tried, and succeeded, to hurt each other. She blames me for you moving away from the group and she brought up Sophia again. She thinks I’m the reason the group’s falling apart, called me toxic.” A lump formed in her throat as she recounted the fight to Daryl. She couldn’t keep looking at him as she spoke, it was taking all of her energy to not come completely undone and she didn’t want him to see her that way. “I called her out on sitting back and letting others look for Sophia. I know I crossed the line, I tried to apologize. Then she brought up Ally…” her sentence trailed off into silence.

“What ‘bout 'er?” He softly prodded.

“She’s dead because of me,” Madison said in a strangled whisper, stating a fact rather than quoting Carol. She hunched forward, the weight of her confession pressing down on her shoulders, and cradled her head in her hands.

“She said that? Madison, that ain’t true,” he said, doing his best to console her. He awkwardly reached out to her and gently began rubbing her back. Daryl didn’t say anything else; fearing anything he said would either make her feel worse or would be dismissed as false. He’d never seen Madison like this, he’d never seen anyone like this. She was more than upset, more than hurt; she was shattered. He couldn’t stand watching her suffer like this, he wished he could shield her and never let her be touched by misery again. Daryl glanced away from Madison and saw Carol approaching them. “Carol’s on ‘er way over,” he informed her, “Want me t’get ridda ‘er?” Madison thought for a moment then weakly nodded.

“Madison, can we talk?” Carol asked quietly. Madison didn’t respond or even look up; she kept her eyes down, blankly staring at the dirt in front of her.

“Now ain’t the time, Carol,” Daryl stated, staring Carol down and keeping a protective arm around Madison.

“I didn’t ask you, I asked her. Madison?”

It was becoming clear that Carol wasn’t going to take no for an answer; perturbed Madison looked up at her, “What, Carol? What do you want?”

“I just wanted to see if you were okay…”

“Does she look okay?” Daryl snapped, standing and taking a few steps forward, putting himself between Carol and Madison.

Carol pressed on, ignoring Daryl, “I wanted to apologize.”

“Okay, great, thank you. Apology accepted, now will you please go?” Madison begged.

“You’re not innocent in all this, you said some awful things too,” Carol reminded Madison, annoyed that she was getting all the sympathy.

“I know I did, and I apologized immediately.”

“And yet you’re still the victim. Wow, you really don’t take the blame for anything, do you?”

“Do you really think a day goes by where I don’t blame myself for what happened to Ally?” Madison asked, slowly rising to her feet. “That I don’t relive every second, every detail, of that morning? That I can close my eyes without seeing her being ripped apart by some monster, dying scared and alone on the forest floor?” She was shaking now, mortified that she was revealing her carefully hidden demons, yet powerless to stop; she was angry at Carol for bringing all this to the surface and she was angry at herself for letting Ally down. “Do you think that I don’t wish, every single day, that that walker got me instead of her? She was so much better than me, in every way. It should've been me, not her! Me!”

She couldn’t hold her tears back any longer and Madison broke down sobbing, collapsing onto the hay bale. Carol stood slack jawed, watching Madison disintegrate before her eyes, “I really did come here to apologize, I didn’t mean to…”

“Carol, shut up an’ get the hell outta here,” Daryl snarled. Carol didn’t move and he took another step towards her, “Leave. Now!” Carol staggered backwards before turning around and marching back to camp.

With Carol gone, Daryl turned his full attention to Madison and quickly sat down next to her again. Acting on instinct alone, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her to his chest and held her close; his actions taking himself, as well as Madison, completely by surprise. Weeping, she curled into him, seeking sanctuary in his strong embrace. Her sobs wracked her entire body and Daryl held her tighter, resting his chin on the top of her head and absentmindedly running his fingers through her hair as he tried to calm her. He finally broke the intimate silence between them and whispered, his voice hoarse, “Maddie, I’m so glad y’ain’t the one got bit.” As Madison’s sobs subsided, Daryl relaxed his hold on her and looked down at her; her eyes were closed and her hand clung to his vest. He caught a glimpse of the leather cuff he’d given her as her ‘trophy’ peeking out of her sleeve and smiled to himself. “D’ya need anythin’?” he asked, wiping a tear off her cheek with his thumb. She shook her head against his chest. "'lright.” Now that her tears had passed, Daryl allowed himself a fleeting moment to enjoy holding Madison in his arms. He couldn’t let this be the last time he held her close like this; he vowed he’d do whatever it took to become the man she deserved. He knew now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that losing her wasn’t an option.

‘I’m so glad y’ain’t the one got bit,’ Daryl’s words echoed in Madison’s mind as she rested safely encircled in his powerful arms. Her head was pounding and her eyes burned, but she didn’t care; she could die happy in his embrace. Not knowing if she’d ever have this opportunity again, she savored the moment, committing every detail to memory; everything from the sound of his heartbeat to the feel of his hand tenderly playing with her hair. A groan from the barn startled them both, bringing their perfect moment to an end. “Sounds like Randall’s come to,” Madison grumbled, sitting up straight as Daryl reluctantly released her. “Do we check on him, do we get Hershel? What do you think?”

“I’ll check it out, 'e could still be out, jus' makin’ noise,” Daryl observed. He stood and walked to the barn door, snatching up his crossbow along the way. He opened the door just a crack to make sure it wasn’t an ambush and when he was convinced it was safe he opened the door wider and stepped inside, bow raised. He came back out seconds later and re-latched the door. “Yeah, 'e’s out, but 'e’s movin’ ‘round a lot. 'e’ll be ‘wake soon ‘nough,” Daryl answered Madison’s question before she could even ask it. He didn’t come back to the hay bale, instead stayed at his post by the barn; suddenly reminded of his reason for being out there in the first place, to keep the group, and Madison, safe.

Madison nodded and stood as well, “My head’s killing me, I’m going to head back to camp. I-I guess I’ll see you later.” Daryl gave her a quick nod and looked down at his shoes. Neither of them were sure how to handle what had just happened between them and chose to pretend it didn’t happen, not knowing how the other felt about it. Madison waved slightly as she turned to leave, giving the main camp a wide berth, not wanting to go anywhere near Carol.

As she trudged away from camp she heard someone running up behind her, she braced herself for round three with Carol. Much to her surprise and relief it was Andrea’s voice she heard call after her, “Madison, wait!” She stopped and turned around, facing Andrea. “I heard the screaming match between you and Carol earlier, are you okay?” the blonde asked.

“I won’t lie, I’ve been better.”

“Don’t let what she said get to you. Agonizing over the past and assigning blame won’t change anything; it won’t bring your sister back. But when you think about it, even if you hadn’t fallen asleep, would Ally have let you follow her? If she was anything like Amy I’m guessing not, it would’ve happened no matter what. If you’d heard her scream and you went running after her, it still would’ve been too later for her and you probably would’ve been bitten too and you both would be dead,” Andrea reasoned, trying to combat Carol’s accusations with logic.

“You’re right, but don’t you ever think ‘why her and not me?’” Madison’s voice cracked, “How do you live with the guilt? You must have your own list of ‘what ifs’.”

Andrea gave Madison a sympathetic smile, “Of course I do. Some days are easier than others. Some days Amy barely crosses my mind and other days it’s all I can do to drag myself out of bed because the pain is too much.” She looked at Madison and then cast her eyes towards Daryl, still standing guard by the barn. “You’re lucky,” she continued with a playful grin, “at least you have someone to help you through the bad days.” Madison dropped her gaze and blushed; Andrea must have seen them together. “I’m here if you ever need to talk, you don’t have to go through this alone.”

“Thanks, that means a lot,” Madison said then continued on to her camp.

The next week passed slowly, tensions were at an all-time high with Randall around and Madison spent most of her time at her camp, keeping busy with simple chores like mending her and Daryl's clothes and cooking whatever he brought back from his many hunting trips; rarely she would venture to camp to take a turn on watch. On one of her visits to the main camp, Carol cornered her and apologized for everything again. Madison, of course, accepted her apology; not because she had completely forgiven Carol for what had been said, but because she wanted the subject to be dropped and for things to go back to normal.  

Daryl had been on edge ever since Randall arrived and was more irritable than ever. He was gone most of the time hunting, guarding the barn, patrolling the farm, or looking for signs of Randall's group, which limited the arguments between him and Madison considerably. She was grateful to be fighting with Daryl less, but it was very lonely for her with him gone so much and she found herself wondering if he was spending so much time away from camp because of her and their moment at the barn. She was half right, he was gone so much because of her, but not because he was avoiding her; he was doing everything in his power to keep her safe.

Finally Hershel determined that Randall was well enough to walk and that same day Rick and Shane blindfolded him again, threw him in the trunk of the car, and drove off to deposit him somewhere far away from the farm. Madison wished Rick had taken her suggestion to heart and given the kid a chance, he didn’t seem beyond reform to her, but she was just glad no one supported Shane's idea and that Randall was still alive.

By early afternoon Madison had done all she could do around camp and decided to go check in on Maggie and Beth; the last she’d heard Beth was still not doing well, but she wasn’t catatonic anymore. Upon entering the Greene home, Madison heard Maggie banging on a door and calling out, “Don’t do this, Beth. Don’t do this! Open up, please!” Madison charged up the stairs to Beth’s room and walked into chaos; Maggie was at the bathroom door, pleading with Beth to open the door while Lori was rushing to the door with a fire poker in her hands. “Beth honey, please open the door. I’m not mad. I’m not mad Beth.” Lori managed to get the door open with the poker and behind the door stood Beth with tears streaming down her face, clutching her bleeding wrist. Maggie ran to her little sister and hugged her, trying to calm her down and assure her it would be all right.

Madison sprang into action and took control of the situation, “Lori, go find Hershel; she’s going to need stitches.” Lori did as she was told without question. Then Madison made Maggie sit Beth down and hold her wrist above her head to slow the flow of blood while she grabbed some towels to press to the young girl’s wound.

A few minutes later Hershel bounded into the room, “What happened?” He looked around and could see for himself what happened and wasted no time tending to his youngest daughter’s injury, doing his best to hide the pain Beth’s suicide attempt was causing him.

Madison looked at Maggie and saw her covered in her sister’s blood. Remembering how it felt to be covered in Ally’s blood, she walked over to Maggie and put her arm around her. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” she suggested and guided Maggie out of the room. Lori was standing in the doorway, watching Hershel work; he didn’t need an audience right now. “Why don’t you get some of that mirror cleaned up so no one else gets hurt?” Madison urged Lori as she and Maggie passed her. Lori nodded and went to work. Madison stole one more quick look at Hershel and Beth as she left the room and caught Hershel’s eyes and the older man gave her an appreciative smile for taking care of his girls.

Maggie insisted that she was okay and Madison left her to clean herself off and then ran downstairs and out of the house. Once she was outside she slowed down and made her way back to her camp. As she walked her mind started to wander and ask questions that there were no answers to. If Beth, the most optimistic girl Madison had met in a long time, could lose hope, what did that say about the state of the world? Was there even a point to fighting anymore? With a sigh she reached her tent and saw Daryl emerge from the woods with his latest kill slung over his shoulders. He yelled something to her, but she couldn’t register what he said, her mind was too cluttered with unanswered questions, and she slid into her tent without acknowledging him.

Daryl dropped his kill and bow where he stood and darted over to Madison’s tent, it wasn’t like her to disappear without a word like that and it worried him. He stood outside her door and called to her, “Maddie? C’mon out, is e’erythin’ okay?” There was no answer. “Yer leavin’ me no choice, I’m comin’ in,” again there was silence so he ducked down and crawled into her small tent. She was laying on her sleeping bag on her side, curled into a loose ball, with one hand under her head and the other playing with her old cell phone, her eyes staring off into space. Daryl sat down next to her and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, “Phone’s back, huh?”

“It never left,” Madison answered quietly, casting her eyes at Daryl.

“S'what’s goin’ on?”

“Beth just slit her wrist. She’ll be okay, I saw the cut and it wasn’t too deep, Hershel’s stitching her up right now.” She sat up to face Daryl and tucked her hair behind her ears. “She just gave up; she doesn’t think there’s a point to any of this anymore.” Madison looked him in the eyes and she asked in a strained whisper, “What if she’s right, Daryl? I mean it, what's the point? One day, everyone we know will become one of those things or will die fighting them. I don’t want to end up like Ally or Sophia. I don’t want to hurt anyone else. This whole existence is futile, isn’t it? We’re fighting a losing battle, so what’s the point?”

A sense of dread washed over Daryl as she spoke, was she going to try something stupid like Beth had? He slowly took the phone from her hands and held it up to her as he answered her question, “This, right here, this is the point. That future ya believe in, that ya helped me t’see; that’s the point. Wantin’ t’beat the odds an’ not end up like them walkers is the point. We gotta keep fightin’, the more people that survive means a better chance that the livin’ will beat the dead an’ the human race’ll continue.” He looked in her eyes, searching for proof that what he was saying was clicking. He continued with a sigh, “Ya’ve been differ’nt since that day with Carol, where’d my lil’ Ball Buster go?”

Anger flashed across Madison’s face, it wasn’t the reaction he was looking for, but at least she felt something other than resignation, “Seriously? Again with the ball buster? You know I hate it, so why do you keep calling me that? It’s not funny anymore!”

“Ain’t tryin’ t’be funny, it’s t’remind ya that yer tougher than ya think; yer a fighter an' it’s worth fightin’ fer yerself, not jus’ fer others. Yer worth it, Maddie, yer worth more than ya know.”

Words failed her as she fumbled for the appropriate response; she was stunned by the real meaning of his seemingly ridiculous nickname for her. She looked down and cleared the lump forming in her throat, blinking away the tears prickling her eyes; she’d felt so worthless since Carol’s tirade and with Daryl’s kind words she could feel pieces of herself fall back into place again. “And here I thought you did it just to piss me off,” she finally admitted, looking up at him through her lashes.

“Added bonus,” he teased softly with a half-smile. “I got an idea, c’mon,” he drawled, taking her hand and leading her out of the tent. “I’s out huntin’ the other day an’ I seen there’s more walkers ‘round than normal. I’m thinkin’, an’ Rick agrees, that if I ride my bike ‘round the main road an’ back, I can draw them dead bastards away from the farm. Thing is, I could use some backup ‘case things go wrong. Whaddya say? Wanna get outta ‘ere?”

Until he suggested leaving the farm, Madison hadn’t noticed how confining staying on the Greene’s property had become and the idea of going out on the road sounded like heaven to her. She beamed at Daryl, “You mean it? Yes! How soon can we go?”

“Right now soon ‘nough fer ya?” She nodded enthusiastically and the pair headed for his motorcycle, both of them making sure they were well armed before getting on the bike.

Daryl got on the bike first and Madison slid on behind him and held onto him tightly, “So how are we doing this?”

“Headin’ out make as much noise as we can, find a clear patch of road an' ride ‘round a bit, after walkers start showin' up we head back, only quieter.” Daryl pressed the starter button and the motorcycle roared to life and he shouted over the revving of the engine, “Ready, Buster?”

And just like that they were gone. Madison had never been on a motorcycle before and she held on to Daryl for dear life at first. He pushed a button and unseen speakers blasted one of Merle’s rock CDs and Madison let out an excited cry at hearing music again. Once she felt more comfortable on the bike she relaxed her grip on Daryl and enjoyed the sensation of the wind in her hair; she could feel the stresses of camp leave her as Daryl sped towards the main road and she’d never felt more free in her life. Once they made it to the main road and found a clear path to drive and selected a smaller back road as their escape route Daryl decided to have some fun with the woman sitting behind him. He started driving in serpentine patterns and taking as many sharp turns as he could to make her squeal and hold on tighter, reveling in the fact that he was able to make her laugh again.

The plan worked perfectly and after several minutes walkers started showing up. “Time t’head back,” he shouted, shutting off the CD and dropping his speed to make the engine run more quietly. 

Daryl turned onto the predetermined back road and Madison screamed, “Daryl!”

“Shit!” he exclaimed as he turned the wheel and hit the brakes hard, skidding to a stop just feet away from a cluster of about thirty walkers blocking their exit. The sound of the motorcycle caught their attention and they started to close in on Daryl and Madison.

She gripped Daryl tightly, trembling, “What do we do now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shameless self promotion never hurt anybody, right? I had an idea for a scene that would've fit about halfway through this chapter and it kept gnawing at the back of my head until I finally wrote it out. If you want to read a "bonus scene" between Daryl and Maddie I've added it as Part 2 of the "Second Hand Hearts" series. It's titled "If You Want". So check it out...if you want (sorry, couldn't pass that up!).


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to quickly thank everyone for your support and for reading my story, it means the world to me. As per usual, I own no part of "The Walking Dead", just Madison.

Terror gripped Madison as the walkers got closer and Daryl didn’t move, “What are you doing? Daryl! We need to go!”

He was silent for a moment, his mind racing through various escape plans; going back to the main road wasn’t an option now that they’d drawn all nearby walkers there and the bike would never make it through the dense forest on either side of the tiny road they were trapped on. Pressing forward was their only hope. “Ain’t nowhere t'go, we gotta clear a path outta here. Get b'hind me!” With a quick nod Madison jumped off the motorcycle, keeping it between herself and the advancing horde, and opened fire. Daryl took his place in front and to the right of her and drew his gun, wanting to hold off using his bow to save his bolts if possible, and began shooting at the walkers as they drew nearer, teeth chomping and arms reaching for their next meal. Between the two of them, the walkers were dropping quickly, but not quickly enough. Madison was the first to run out of ammo, with a frustrated huff she shoved her small revolver into her waistband and brandished her knife, plunging it into the skull of the nearest walker and spraying herself with blood. Sunlight bounced off the blade and caught Daryl’s attention, “What the hell’re ya doin'?”

“Shut up and focus, you can’t do this alone,” she threw back at him. He grunted and turned his attention back to the onslaught; she was right, of course, but he hated that she had to be that close to the walkers to kill them. The cluster was almost thinned out to the point where Daryl could weave through them and get Madison to safety. When he used the last of his bullets Daryl followed Madison’s lead, impressed by her speed and efficiency in dealing with the walkers, and drew his hunting knife.

An earsplitting scream escaped Madison’s lips and Daryl spun around; his heart stopped and then plummeted to the ground as he watched a walker clamp its jaws onto his Maddie’s left wrist. With a guttural roar he thrust his knife into the walker’s head as she yanked her arm free. In a rage he killed one more nearby walker then jumped on his motorcycle and started the engine, only thinking of getting Madison away from danger and getting her the help she desperately needed. “Get on,” he barked at her. Dazed, Madison ignored him and rammed her knife into the eye socket of one last walker that was a little too close for comfort before he repeated himself, “Get on the damn bike, Maddie. It’s good ‘nough.” The urgency in Daryl’s voice brought her out of her fog and she obeyed, clinging tightly to him as he sped through the remaining walkers.

Trees flew by and Daryl raced towards the farm at reckless speeds, the engine roaring louder than ever. “Daryl, slow down! We’re making too much noise, they’ll follow us back to camp,” Madison yelled in his ear. “Think of the group, please! Slow down!” Reluctantly, he eased off the throttle and dropped their speed. They rode in silence the rest of the way to their camp, the reality of what happened to Madison and what it meant setting in on Daryl; this is why he did better alone, people always left him in one way or another.

The motorcycle came to a stop behind the stone fireplace near Daryl’s tent to keep any prying eyes at the main camp from seeing Madison’s arm before they were ready to break the news. She had barely hopped off the bike before Daryl threw his leg over the seat and ran around to her, grabbing her arm and asking in earnest, “How bad did it getcha?”

“It’s fine, I’m fine. Calm down, you’re scaring me. Are you okay?”

“No, I seen it bite ya,” he insisted. Her arm was caked in blood; he ran his hands up and down it looking for the source of the bleeding, but couldn't find it. He removed her leather bracelet and threw it to the ground so he could inspect her arm better, mumbling under his breath in a near panic, “Where’s the bite?”

“Daryl, look at me,” he didn’t hear her pleading and continued to scrutinize her arm. She took one of his hands in her free one to get him to stop and look at her, “You’re not listening to me; I’m fine. It didn’t get me, it got the bracelet. Look.” She bent down and picked up the cuff and pointed out the teeth marks in the leather. “You and this silly trophy saved my life,” she whispered.

“Son of a bitch,” Daryl exclaimed, taking the bracelet from her and examining it closely then putting it back in its rightful place on her wrist, “So y'ain’t bit?”

“Nope,” she answered, fighting back joyful tears and quietly laughing in disbelief.

“Yer okay?” he questioned, certain he was dreaming.

Madison reached up and gently brushed his hair off his face, “Yeah,” she whispered smiling warmly, “Yeah, Daryl, I’m okay. What about you?” She looked in his eyes, trying to work out what was going on inside his head, “Are you okay?”

He returned her smile with a half-grin of his own as he pulled her closer to him and nodded, enveloping her in his arms. “I’m good now,” Daryl answered, his gravelly voice low and thick with emotion. Madison wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face against his shoulder, and enjoyed the safety she felt in his arms. “Maddie?” Daryl’s husky voice broke the silence, they leaned back far enough to see each other face to face, but never let go of one another; their eyes locked, “Ne’er scare me like that again, got it?” There was a fire blazing in Daryl’s eyes she’d never seen before that left her breathless. Unable to speak, she could only look up at him and nod, her lips parted slightly. His eyes narrowed and his stare grew in intensity, a look of determination spread across his face as he slowly, cautiously, brought his face closer to Madison’s; her heart raced as she tilted her head back preparing to meet his lips with her own.

“Daryl, you out here?” Rick called from the other side of the fireplace.

Startled by Rick’s voice, Daryl and Madison jumped apart; frustration and disappointment on both of their faces. “Somebody best be dyin’,” Daryl grumbled. Madison playfully hit his shoulder before pushing him forward to see what Rick needed. “What d’ya want?” Daryl barked, striding up to Rick with Madison a step behind.

Rick’s jaw dropped at the blood covering them, “Is there some sort of problem out here? Are walkers gettin' in?"

"We dealt with it," Daryl curtly replied. Misunderstanding Daryl and believing they'd been attacked, that the farm was no longer safe, the color drained from Rick's face.

Madison shot Daryl a scathing look; he had no reason to be picking a fight with Rick, although she understood and was also irritated by Rick's poor timing. That moment with Daryl was perfect and one that couldn’t be duplicated, she’d missed her chance. "We went out to draw walkers away from camp like you two discussed," she explained to Rick, gesturing to the two men beside her. "We had a close call, but we made it out."

The color returned to Rick’s face, "You had me goin' there; thought walkers were on the property. Do you think it worked; did they follow you?" Rick asked.

Temper in check, Daryl replied, “Yeah, it worked. Don’t know fer how long, but it worked.” He eyed the cuts and bruises on the sheriff's face, "Y'ain't had it easy either; Randall put up a fight?"

Rick's eyes fell and he shook his head, "No. No, Randall wasn't the one throwin’ punches, me and Shane..."

“Shane did this to you?” Madison guessed, sharing a quick look with Daryl; her suspicions about Shane were spot on. "What happened?"

"I learned some things about him today and he can’t be trusted; let's just leave it at that,” Rick replied, masterfully sidestepping her question. “And that’s why I need to talk to you, Daryl.”

“‘Bout what?”

“I know we’ve had problems in the past and you blame me for what happened to your brother in Atlanta.”

Daryl tensed at the mention of Merle and folded his arms, his instinct immediately making him go on the defense. “Yeah? Tell me somethin’ I don’t know,” he spat, taking an angry step towards Rick. Madison gently placed her hand on his bicep and he stopped advancing on Rick.

Rick stood a moment with his hands on his hips, nodding as he formulated his response, “All right, how’s this? I trust you, Daryl. I think you’ve got the group’s best interests in mind and will do what it takes to keep everyone safe.” His eyes darted to Madison as he spoke, indicating that he suspected how important she was to Daryl. “The drop-off didn’t go as planned,” Rick continued, “Randall’s back; turns out he went to school with Maggie, he knows where we are. I need you to have a talk with him. I want your opinion on whether or not you think he’s a threat.”

“Why me an’ not Shane? He’s yer right hand."

“He used to be, he’s not the man I thought I knew,” Rick’s answer was very vague again; Madison could tell he had something to say, but he kept dancing around the issue for some reason. “Think I could have a word with Daryl alone, Madison?”

‘And there’s the reason,’ she told herself. “Yeah, sure. I’ll leave you guys to it; I was wanting to check on Beth anyway.” She turned and briskly walked to her tent to grab a fresh change of clothes. She didn’t want to be presumptuous, but she figured that after a near death experience she deserved a shower so she was going to ask Maggie is she could steal their bathroom for a minute.

Daryl and Rick watched Madison go, once he was sure she was out of earshot Daryl folded his arms and stepped closer to Rick, “What’s this ‘bout? Why’d ya make ‘er go?”

Rick lowered his voice when he responded, “We need answers from Randall, honest answers, and I don’t care how we get them, so long as we get them. Are you all right with that?”

It took Daryl a few moments to grasp what Rick was asking him and when he did he took a step back from Rick. “I ain’t int’ torturin’ kids Rick,” he gestured to the barn where he assumed Randall was locked up again, “Y'want answers? Time t’get yer hands dirty, officer.”

“I can’t,” Daryl scoffed at Rick as he spoke, “I can’t leave Shane alone with him ‘cause he’ll kill him on the spot. I can’t be the one to talk to him, he thinks I’m the nice one and he won’t tell me anythin', but you, you can scare him into talkin'.”

“Still ain’t gonna torture ‘im fer ya.”

“I don’t care how you get him to talk, so long as he talks. Daryl, think of Madison, don’t you want her safe? This, gettin' him to talk, is how we keep her and everyone else safe.”

The two men stared each other down for several seconds before Daryl conceded, “Fine, I’ll talk t’ ‘im.” Rick nodded then returned to the main camp, leaving Daryl alone with his doubts about what he'd just agreed to do.

Madison knocked on Beth’s door and poked her head in and saw her sitting up in bed, propped up by pillows against the headboard, with Maggie, sitting in a chair next to her, going through an old photo album. “Hey, how’re you feeling, Beth?”

“Better,” she quietly answered, neither Beth nor Maggie looking up from the album.

“That’s great. Maggie, can I use your shower really quick?”

“Yeah, of course,” Maggie looked up at Madison and her eyes went wide when she saw the blood covering her. She jumped up and crossed the room to talk to Madison in the hall before Beth saw the blood and panicked. Maggie stayed in the doorway, still not comfortable with leaving Beth alone, as Madison backed up a few steps and stood in the hall. “What happened to you?” Maggie hissed.

“Everything’s fine, Maggie, I promise. Don’t worry; walkers haven’t gotten on the property. I’ll explain, but can I clean up first?” Madison asked, looking down at herself, “I’m really, really gross.”

“Yeah, go; but I expect details.” Maggie replied before going back to her little sister and joining her on the bed. Madison quickly showered and got dressed then joined Maggie in Beth’s room. “Feel better?” Maggie asked when Madison entered the room and took the now empty chair next to the bed.

“Yes, so much better. Thanks.”

“So what happened? Where did all that blood come from?”

"What blood?" Beth asked, confused now that Madison had cleaned up, "Are you okay?"

“Yeah, I'm fine. Daryl and I rode his motorcycle out to the main road to draw the walkers away from camp and we got into a tight spot and had to fight our way out.” She extended her left arm with the leather cuff on it, “A walker got me. This bracelet saved my life. See? You can see the bite mark.”

Maggie stared at Madison for a moment, “How stupid can you be? Goin’ out like that, just the two of you? You both could’ve died and you nearly did.”

Madison leaned back and looked at her bracelet herself, tracing the studded rose pattern with her right pointer finger, “I know it was stupid, but I was never scared. I knew Daryl wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”

A mischievous grin spread across Maggie’s face, “Oh! Okay, I see. So things are goin’ better with him, huh?”

Madison cheeks burned and Beth caught on to what was happening, “Wait, you and Daryl? But he’s so mean.”

“He’s not mean,” Madison jumped to defend him, “He’s just a little...abrasive. He’s different once you get to know him. He’s actually very sweet deep down.”

“How deep are we talkin’? He sure hides it well.”

“Beth, shhh. So…?” Maggie prodded.

Madison defiantly shook her head, “I can’t. He doesn’t like others mucking around in his business. He’d kill me if I said anything.”

“So there's something to tell? C’mon, you have to tell us now.”

“It’s nothing. We, he...almost kissed me today. Rick interrupted us. It’s probably for the best; I know it didn’t mean anything. We’d just gotten back and the adrenaline was pumping and we were just high on being alive, you know? He got carried away. But I just have to say, the look in his eyes before he leaned in? Mm, it was going to be an amazing kiss...I hate Rick right now.” Madison pouted at the end of her story.

Maggie raised an eyebrow at Madison as she spoke, “Believe me; that meant somethin’. It may have been fueled by adrenaline, but he meant it. Give him time, he’ll get brave again.”

“Maybe you’re right, I just need to come up with more ways to nearly get myself killed and then he’ll be all over me.” The three girls giggled and talked for no one knew how long. Madison looked out the window and noticed the sun was sitting low in the sky; with a heavy sigh she stood to go, “I should probably head back to camp while it’s still somewhat light out.”

“Um-hmm, which is code for ‘I’d rather be with Daryl’, right?” Beth teased.

Madison shook her head, “I should never have said anything. You’re evil.”

Maggie followed her to the hall, taking a step into the hall this time and closing the door, Beth was in too good of a mood right now to try anything again, “Thank you Madison. For earlier with Beth and for tonight. You saved her life this afternoon and I don’t want you to think that it went unnoticed or unappreciated, 'cause it didn’t. And tonight, wow. I never thought I’d see her smile again, let alone hear her laugh so...thank you!” Maggie gave Madison a quick hug before going back into Beth’s room.

The sun was nearly gone when Madison got back to camp, the last hints of red and purple touching the sky. Daryl had started a fire and was staring into the flames, lost in thought about his conversation with Rick. Madison’s footsteps pulled him back to the present, “Thought ya got lost or somethin’.”

She took a seat next to him, the warmth of the fire enveloping her, “I lost track of time talking with Maggie and Beth.”

“How’s she doin’?”

“Really well,” Madison answered, smiling into the fire then looking at Daryl, “She was laughing tonight, which is a miracle considering...”

“Like ya laughin’ on m'bike today,” Daryl commented, looking at her aglow in the soft firelight. “Ya had me worried, Maddie. Thought y'was gonna do somethin’ stupid like Beth.”

Madison hung her head, “I had myself worried too, I’m so sorry.”

Daryl shrugged off her apology, focusing on stoking the fire. “What d’y’all talk 'bout?” he muttered, worried that she had run her mouth off to Maggie and Beth about how he wimped out and didn’t follow through with the kiss earlier; he knew firsthand how open Madison was with Maggie and he didn’t like being the topic of discussion.

“Nothing much,” she answered, “I told them about our...adventure earlier.”

“Adventure?” Daryl echoed, carefully keeping his expression and tone as neutral as possible.

“Yeah, you know; motorcycle? Walkers? Any of that ring a bell?” Madison teased. Daryl’s face relaxed and Madison snickered at his reaction, “What did you think I was talking about?”

Daryl’s blue eyes flashed to her face and back to the fire, “Nothin’.”

An awkward silence fell between them, both doing their best to think of anything other than their interrupted kiss. Madison decided to address the other big, unanswered question weighing on her mind, “How did it go with Rick after I left?”

Every muscle in Daryl’s body tensed at the mention of Rick and their discussion. He hung his head and scratched lines in the dirt with the stick he was holding. “Was 'lright. Wants me t’talk t’Randall in the mornin’, see if 'e can be trusted or not.”

Madison stared at him, waiting for him to continue, when he didn’t she gave him curious look, “I know, I was there for that part of it. Why did he need to talk to you alone?”

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye; he wanted her opinion on what he should do, but he didn’t want her to be burdened by Rick's suggestion like he was and chose to lie to her, “Jus’ didn’t wanna worry ya more.”

She nodded at him, very aware that Daryl was holding something back, but she didn’t pry knowing he had to have his reasons. “That’s good of him,” she finally replied. Daryl didn’t respond to her; he was miles away lost in his own thoughts. Madison started feeling uneasy as she tried to figure out what could be bad enough that Daryl would want to keep it from her. After several more wordless minutes she decided it was best to leave Daryl to process whatever he was going through. “I think I’m going to call it a night, see you in the morning,” quietly stated as she stood to leave and placed her hand on his shoulder, wanting him to know that she was there for him, no matter what was going on.

In one swift movement Daryl covered her hand with his, holding her there while he spoke, “Ain’t like it was before, ya know that, right Maddie?” After avoiding her gaze all night he looked her in the eyes and clutched her hand as he spoke, silently begging her to understand, “Sometimes ya gotta do things ya don’t wanna do t’keep the people ya care ‘bout safe.”

“What are you trying to tell me, Daryl?”

He released her hand and looked away from her, shaking his head, “Nothin’. Jus’...nothin'.” He fell silent again and Madison walked to her tent, confused and worried by Daryl’s odd behavior.

By the time Madison woke up the next morning, Daryl was already gone. She wandered over the main camp, surprised to see the group anxiously gathered around the fire pit. “What’s going on? Has anyone seen Daryl?” she asked, standing between Dale and Maggie.

“He’s still interrogating Randall,” Dale answered her.

“We’re just waitin’ to hear what he finds out,” Maggie elaborated and the uneasiness Madison felt the night before resurfaced.

“So what you gonna do?” Lori asked her husband, “We’d all feel better if we knew the plan.”

“Is there a plan?” Andrea inquired, pacing across the campsite.

“We gonna keep him here?” Glenn added to the sea of questions.

Rick looked up and saw Daryl approaching, “We’ll know soon enough.”

Madison followed Rick’s stare and her blood ran cold as she looked at Daryl’s bleeding hands. She finally pieced together what he had been trying to tell her the night before and she felt sick; never in a thousand lifetimes would she have thought that Daryl Dixon was capable of torture.

As he got closer Daryl tried to avoid looking at Madison, afraid of what he’d see in her eyes when she realized what he’d done to Randall. Against his will, his eyes flickered to her and he saw how shaken and disappointed she was. He cast his eyes to the ground, unable to bear her disillusioned stare. He’d done a lot of things in his life that he wasn’t proud of, but this, beating up a defenseless kid, this was a new low for him. He forced these thoughts out of his mind; he’d gained the information the group needed to stay safe, and that’s all that mattered.

“Boy there’s got a gang, thirty men,” he announced, focusing his attention on Rick, “They have heavy artillery an’ they ain’t lookin’ t’make friends. They roll through here, our boys’re dead. An’ our women, they’re gonna…” Daryl cast a sidelong glance at Madison, willing her to understand why he did what he did, “they’re gonna wish they were.”

“What did you do?” Carol asked Daryl quietly and Madison squeezed her eyes shut, not sure if she could bear to hear his answer.

Daryl glanced down and his blood covered hands before answering. “Had a lil' chat,” he grumbled. He started walking over to Madison out of habit, but stopped a few feet away from her, unsure if she still wanted anything to do with him.

“No one goes near this guy,” Rick ordered.

Lori stepped up to him and softly asked, “Rick, what are you gonna do?”

“We have no choice, he’s a threat. We have to eliminate the threat,” Rick answered.

Dale took a few steps forward, “You’re just gonna kill him?”

“It’s settled,” Rick proclaimed, looking at Dale, “I’ll do it today.”

The group broke off into smaller groups huddled together in discussion, but Madison worked her way through them and stormed off in the direction Daryl had come from. Daryl chased after her and once he caught up to her he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside, “Where the hell d’ya think yer goin’? Didn’t ya hear Rick, no one goes near Randall; 'e’s dangerous.”

Madison spun around to face him, “Is this what you were hinting at last night? That Rick told you to torture Randall for information?”

“We need t’keep the camp safe. Don’t feel bad fer ‘im, 'e ain’t a good guy,” Daryl explained tersely, desperately clinging to his belief that the ends justified the means.

Disgusted by his apparent lack of remorse, Madison shook free from his grasp and walked away from him. He grabbed her arm again, more forcefully this time, and pulled her closer to him, their faces inches apart. “Stay away from that boy, Madison,” he growled.

“Or what? You going to hit me like you hit Randall if I don’t?” She challenged, animosity evident in her voice.

Her question hurt him and he wondered if she really thought that little of him. Anger quickly replaced the hurt and he tightened his grip on her arm slightly and pulled her even closer, “If I haveta.”

“Unbelievable,” Madison breathed as she tried to break his hold on her arm, but this time he wouldn’t release her. “Let me go, Daryl! He needs help. Look at your hands, I’m betting he’s a lot worse off than you are.”

“Ya heard Rick, 'e’ll be dead soon anyways, so what does it matter?”

His eyes were boring into hers and she was suddenly very aware of how close they were and how hard her heart was pounding. She forced those thoughts out of her mind so she could answer his question. “I don’t want him to die to thinking we’re all monsters.”

“Monster?” Daryl repeated, dropping her arm and taking a step back, “That what ya think of me now?”

She opened her mouth to say something hurtful and snapped it shut; she wanted to end this fight before irreparable damage was done to their relationship, whatever it was. Wearily, she rubbed her face and ran her hands through her hair then looked up at him with a softer expression, “No, I don’t think you’re a monster, but...wasn’t there another way? He’s just a kid for crying out loud.”

Daryl was still agitated from their argument, but was doing his best to calm down so he could try and fix what he feared was broken, “Ya didn’t hear ‘im talkin, ya didn’t hear what ‘is group did, what 'e let ‘is group do t'them girls, hell I bet ya they ain’t the only ones been attacked by ‘em.”

“But you don’t even know if he was involved and he’s been sentenced to death…”

“Buster, stop talkin’ fer once an’ let me finish,” Daryl hesitantly reached towards her and brushed her hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. When she didn’t pull away, he   continued the motion and ran his hand down the side of her face and neck, bringing it to rest on the graceful slope where her neck met her shoulder, “Yer right, I don’t know what 'e did or didn't do, but what I do know is I can’t let that happen t’ya. So jus' do as I say; leave it be an’ stay away from ‘im.”

Madison nodded in response and gingerly took his free hand and looked at his bloody knuckles, “Come on, I’ll help you take care of these.” She led him to the nearby water pump and washed the blood off his hands. Even though Daryl wouldn’t look at her, she could see the guilt and self-loathing eating away at him. “I don’t think you’ll need stitches, the cuts don’t look too deep; that’s good,” he glanced at her when she spoke and she smiled at him, hoping he’d know she was still there for him.

Although she smiled at him, her eyes were somber; Daryl knew he had disappointed her and yet she still was taking care of him. Unable to bear the kindness he didn’t deserve any longer he pulled his hand away from Madison and jumped to his feet. “I gotta go,” he muttered as he strode away.

Madison watched him go, pondering the man she knew Daryl to be and the man who tortured a kid that morning; she didn’t see how they could be the same person. Lost in her thoughts, she was completely unaware that Dale had joined her until he spoke, “Madison, do you have a minute?”

“Sure.”

Dale took a deep breath, “Where do you stand on the Randall situation?”

“I don’t want to see him killed. He’s just a kid, we don’t even know if he’s done something wrong. He shouldn’t die because of what his group did or what they may do or not do in the future.”

“Will you stand with me tonight and try to save the boy’s life?”

“Of course.”

“How’s Daryl with all this, with his new role in the group?”

Madison sighed, “He won’t say anything, but I can see in his eyes that he hates himself for what he did. He was trying to tell me about it last night, but I didn’t understand what he was saying until this morning and I saw his hands covered in blood.” Her voice cracked, “This just isn’t him; he isn’t this person. He made it sound like he did what he did to keep me safe. I don’t want to be the reason someone else got hurt.”

Dale gave her a sympathetic smile, “I know you don’t. It may not be the ideal way to show it, but Daryl cares about you; we all can see it. You’ve brought out a better side of him. You know, I don’t think I’d ever seen him smile until you came along. Today was a mistake, a terrible one, but a mistake none the less. He’s trying to reconcile between who he thought he was and who you’ve shown him he can be and that will take time. Don’t give up on him; don’t give up on whatever it is that's going on between you two.”

Madison smiled at Dale; he had a gift for putting things in perspective. “He may just surprise me, right?” she asked, quoting what Dale told her about Daryl on her first night in camp.

“I was right then and I’m right now.” Dale’s demeanor changed and he was back to business, “Will Daryl be willing to discuss Randall’s fate with me?”

“I don’t think he really wants Randall dead, but he’s not in a chatty mood so I’m not sure; he might blow you off, but it’s worth a try.”

“A man’s life is definitely worth a try,” Dale insisted as he left to find others to talk to.

Daryl found himself at his camp with no recollection of how he got there, but now that  he was, he couldn’t stay put; he had to get away so he could breathe and think. His mind raced and doubts started trickling into his train of thought. He doubted that Rick really trusted him like he had said and wondered if Rick said that just to get him to do his dirty work; Rick probably still looked to Shane for everything. Madison’s melancholy face flashed in his mind and his heart ached, he was certain he’d lost any chance for making it work with her now; she’d never see him as anything besides Rick’s henchman. He shook his head, she deserved better than a man who beat up on some poor kid with his hands cuffed behind his back so he couldn't even defend himself. He started preparing for a quick hunting trip, not that any more meat was needed; he just needed an excuse to be by himself. His mind continued to run wild as he inspected his bolts and loaded his crossbow. He heard footsteps and looked up to see Dale walking towards him and groaned, “The whole point of me comin’ up ‘ere is t’get away from ya people.”

“Gonna take more than that,” Dale insisted.

“Carol send you?” Daryl asked without looking at Dale. What he really wanted to know was if Madison had sent him, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask about her.

“Carol’s not the only one that’s concerned about you, your new role in the group. Madison's worried about you too.”

Daryl looked up at the mention of Madison’s name and scoffed at Dale, “Oh man, I don’t need my head shrunk. This group’s broken.” He heaved a defeated sigh, “I’m better off fendin’ fer myself.”

“You act like you don’t care.”

“Yeah, it’s ‘cause I don’t,” Daryl replied, trying to convince himself as well as Dale that he was speaking the truth.

Daryl threw on his jacket and vest as Dale spoke, finally getting to his point, “So live or die, you don’t care what happens to Randall?”

“Nope,” Daryl said, glaring at Dale.

“Then why not stand with me, try to save the kid’s life, if it really doesn’t matter one way or the other?”

The old man was persistent, that was for sure and Daryl had to respect him for that. “Didn’t peg ya fer a desperate son of a bitch.”

“Your opinion make a difference.”

“Man, ain’t nobody lookin’ at me fer nothin’,” Daryl countered. Dale was just getting annoying now, so Daryl grabbed his bow and started to walk away.

“Madison is,” Dale tried to use Madison to get through Daryl’s walls; at least it got him to stop walking away. “Carol is, and I am. Right now. And you obviously, you have Rick’s ear.”

“Rick jus’ looks t'Shane, let ‘im.” Daryl sneered, taking a few steps towards Dale and then walking away again.

“You cared about what happened to Sophia,” Dale called out, pulling out the ace up his sleeve. Daryl stopped in his tracks and turned around again and slowly walked back to Dale. “Cared what it meant to the group. Torturing people? That isn’t you. You’re a decent man, so is Rick. Shane...he’s different.” Dale finished.

“Why’s that? ‘Cause 'e killed Otis?”

Dale was shocked that someone shared his suspicions, “He tell you that?”

“‘e told some story, how Otis covered ‘im, saved ‘is ass. ‘e showed up with the dead guy’s gun. Rick ain’t stupid, if 'e didn’t figure that out it’s ‘cause 'e didn’t wanna.” Daryl was done talking now and turned to leave, determined to get away this time, “It’s like I said, group’s broken.”

Daryl returned empty handed from his hunting trip and saw Madison sitting by the fireplace. He thought about turning around and going back the way he came, but decided against that; he’d have to face her sooner or later. She looked up and smiled at him, “I didn’t think you’d make it back in time.”

“In time fer what?”

“Everyone’s meeting back at the house to discuss what to do with Randall one last time.”

“That decision was made the second Rick brought ‘im back here, Maddie.”

Madison stood up, “I know, but I still want to be there for Dale.” She started walking towards the house and stopped when she noticed Daryl wasn’t with her, “You’re not coming?”

“Don’t see the point if it’s already decided.”

“Okay, if you don’t do it for Randall or Dale, then do it for me. This meeting is going to be horrible to get through, already knowing the outcome; don’t make me go through it alone.” She extended her hand towards Daryl and after a brief hesitation he took it and walked with her to the house, fingers intertwined.

Daryl and Madison filed into the house with the rest of the group, Daryl taking his customary spot on the outskirts of the group, this time leaning against a chest of drawers in the foyer. He caught Madison gently by the arm and guided her to stand in front of him; now that they were there and could feel the tense atmosphere of the room, Daryl knew they’d both need support to get through this meeting. Glenn was the first to speak, “So how do we do this? Just take a vote?”

“Does it have to be unanimous?” Andrea asked.

“How about majority rules?” Lori suggested.

“Well, let’s...let’s just see where everybody stands, then we can talk through the options.” Rick decided. No one wanted to be the one to get their hands dirty Madison noted; this meeting was going to be brutal.

Shane spoke up, he could always be counted on to get the pot stirring, "Well, where I sit, there’s only one way to move forward.”

“Killing him, right?” Dale challenged. “I mean why bother to even take a vote? It’s clear the way the wind’s blowing.”

“Well, if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know.” Rick replied.

“Well I can tell you it’s a small group, maybe just me, Madison, and Glenn,” Dale admitted.

Glenn sat silently for a moment, clearly having changed his loyalties, “Look, I-I think you’re pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this…”

“They’ve got you scared,” Dale fumed.

“He’s not one of us,” Glenn tried to justify his feelings.

“‘He’s not one of us?’ I’m grateful Daryl found me when he did, because if that’s the group’s new motto I would’ve been killed on the spot,” Madison exclaimed. "Why did you give me a chance, but not Randall?”

“‘Cause ya weren’t a threat then an’ y’ain’t a threat now,” Daryl assured her.

“But Randall and his group is,” Glenn continued, “And we’ve-we’ve lost too many people already.”

Dale turned to Maggie, “How about you? Do you agree with this?”

“Couldn’t we continue keepin’ him prisoner?” she asked Rick.

“Jus' 'nother mouth t’feed,” Daryl spoke up.

“It may be a lean winter,” Hershel agreed.

Lori piped up, “We could ration better.”

“Has anyone considered the possibility that he might have something to contribute?” Madison threw her question out to the group.

Dale looked to her, thankful for her support, “Well, like she said, he could be an asset. Give him a chance to prove himself.”

“Put him to work?” Glenn asked, clarifying the suggestions being made.

Rick put his foot down, “We’re not letting him walk around.”

“We could put an escort on him,” Maggie suggested. Madison could see that Maggie didn’t want him to die, why didn’t she say so?

“Who wants to volunteer for that duty?” Shane scoffed.

“I will,” Dale stated.

“I don’t think any of us should be walkin’ with this guy,” Rick spoke for the room.

Lori automatically agreed with her husband, “He’s right; I wouldn’t feel safe unless he was tied up.”

“We can’t exactly put chains around his ankles and sentence him to hard labor,” Andrea made a valid point.

Shane spoke up yet again, eager for any opportunity to derail Dale’s case, “Look, say we let him join us, right? Maybe he’s helpful, maybe he’s nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, brings back his thirty men.” Daryl tensed at the scenario Shane was describing and put a protective hand on Madison’s upper arm.

“So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt?” Dale asked, shocked by the group’s frame of mind. “If we do this, we’re saying there’s no hope. Rule of law is dead, there is no civilization.” Dale’s plea seemed to strike a chord with Hershel and he suggested dropping Randall off like Rick originally planned, only taking him farther out than before. Lori quickly shot down the idea, reminding Rick that he barely made it back alive the last time and listing the things that could go wrong if they tried it again; mainly walkers and car trouble. Daryl mentioned the possibility of an ambush. Glenn jumped on board and agreed that the group should not endanger its own members.

Patricia quietly spoke up, “If you go through with it, how would you do it? Would he suffer?”

“We can’t seriously be discussing the how already, can we?” Madison interjected.

Shane ignored her and answered Patricia by asking Rick, “We could hang him, right? Just snap his neck.”

“I thought about that, shootin' may be more humane,” Rick answered.

“What about the body?” T-Dog asked, “Do we bury him?”

Dale cut T off mid thought, “Hold on, hold on; you’re talking about this like it’s already decided.”

“Ya’ve been talkin’ all day, goin’ ‘round in circles,” Daryl grumbled, sick of the run around, he moved back and forth like a caged animal, “Ya jus’ wanna go ‘round in circles again?”

“This is a young man’s life, and it is worth more than a five-minute conversation! Is this what it’s come to? We kill someone because we can’t decide what else to do with him?” Dale was frantic, he could see he wasn’t going to win, but he was going to give it his best shot, “You saved him and now look at us. He’s been tortured,” Madison heard Daryl take a deep breath as Dale gestured towards him and she reached behind her and found his hand hanging off the chest of drawers he was leaning on and gave it a firm squeeze. Dale continued his plea, “He’s gonna be executed. How are we any better than those people that we’re so afraid of?”

Shane was running out of patience with Dale, “We all know what needs to be done.”

“No, Dale is right. We can’t leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility...” Rick sided with Dale for the time being.

“So what’s the other solution?” Andrea asked. “We haven’t come up with a single viable option yet, I wish we could.”

“So let’s work on it!” Dale bellowed.

Carol broke her silence, “Stop it, just stop it. I’m sick of everybody arguing and fighting.” Madison suppressed an eye roll. “I didn’t ask for this. You can’t ask us to decide something like this.”

“Nobody asked for this, nobody wanted to have to make this decision. You can’t stand on the sidelines your whole life, it’s time to take a stand,” Madison told Carol.

“I am taking a stand. My stand is that this shouldn’t be placed on our shoulders.” Carol turned to Rick and Dale, “Please, decide. Either of you, both of you, but leave me out.”

“Not speaking out or killing him yourself, there’s no difference.” Dale shot at Carol.

Rick stepped in, “All right, that’s enough. Anybody wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance.”

A heavy silence filled the room and all eyes dropped to the floor. Dale looked expectantly from person to person; Madison couldn’t let him stand alone, “I can see that an appeal to your humanity won’t work, so let’s look at this as a numbers game. We’re fighting a losing battle out there. Most of us have been shielded here on the farm and I think we’re forgetting what it’s like beyond those fences. We’re severely outnumbered and our best chance of survival is as simple as safety in numbers, so why shoot ourselves in the foot?” She quietly laughed, “You know what? I don’t care what any of you think; human life, any human life, still has value.” Daryl put a hand on each of her shoulders and gently shook her to get her attention, she turned around and he mouthed “Good speech” to her.

No one spoke up after Madison, not that she thought anyone would. Dale tried again to reach Rick, “You once said that we don’t kill the living.”

“Well, that was before the livin' tried to kill us.” Rick replied.

“But don’t you see? If we do this, the people that we were, the world we knew is dead. And this new world is ugly. It’s...harsh. It’s-it’s survival of the fittest, and that’s a world I don’t wanna live in. And I don’t believe that any of you do. I can’t. Please. Let’s just do what’s right.” Dale looked around the room once more, “Isn’t there anybody else who’s gonna stand with me and Madison?”

Another loud silence descended on the group before Andrea spoke up, “He’s right.” Madison couldn’t help but smirk at Shane’s dumbfounded expression when his sidekick switched teams. “We should try to find another way.”

“Anybody else?” Rick asked the group, no one else stepped forward and Rick turned to Dale, letting him know the group had spoken.

Dale fought back tears, “Are y’all gonna watch too? No, you’ll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we’re slaughtering a human being. I won’t be a party to it.” Dale made his way out of the room, pausing for a moment and putting his hand on Daryl’s shoulder and saying to him, “This group is broken.”

Everyone watched Dale leave, once the door closed behind him Rick announced, “We’ll do it once it’s dark. Come on, let’s figure out how.” Rick and Shane headed towards the kitchen, but after a few steps, Rick stopped and looked at Daryl, “You comin'?”

Daryl had mixed feelings about Rick including him in the plans; on one hand it filled him with pride that Rick did look to him to a degree, but on the other hand he still wondered exactly how Rick saw him and the role Rick needed him to play. “Yeah, I’m comin’,” he gruffly replied, pulling himself up to his full height and carefully avoiding Madison’s gaze.

Madison waited outside on the porch steps for Daryl, wanting to make one last plea to keep him from going through with killing Randall. He bounded down the steps and past her; she was unsure if he honestly didn’t see her or if he was blatantly ignoring her, but she called after him, “Daryl?” He came to a stop and turned and looked at her, he hadn’t seen her on the steps and was shocked to see her there. “Can we talk? I know you don’t agree with the decision, so why are you going along with it?”

“Save yer breath, won’t change nothin’. This is happenin', accept it,” he rolled his eyes and began to walk away.

She stood up and took a few steps towards his retreating back and called out, “Then let Rick and Shane do it. Daryl, please don’t do this. You’re better than this.”

Anger flashed across his face and he whipped around to face her, his eyes narrowed as he strode towards her, “An’ what if I ain’t, huh? What if this is me, Maddie? Ya gonna move back with the rest of ‘em an’ turn yer back on me?"

“What? No, of course not, I'm here for you, no matter what. I’m just worried about you.”

“Worried about me? Yer somethin’ else lady, ya know that?” he turned around, dismissively waving his hand at her.

Madison didn’t back down and got in front of him, forcing him to look at her. “I mean it! Taking a life, it...changes you and there’s no coming back from it. I don’t want that to happen to you,” she pleaded with him.

“Shut up, Madison,” Daryl growled, “Don’t talk ‘bout shit ya don’t know nothin’ ‘bout.”

“I know what I’m talking about,” she insisted.

“The hell ya do,” Daryl sneered. “Fine then, how?”

She’d hoped she would never have to have this conversation with anyone, especially Daryl. She looked around to make sure no one from camp was within earshot. She lowered her gaze and folded her arms and took several deep breaths trying to work up the courage to speak. Daryl looked at her, growing more and more concerned the longer she was silent. Madison braved a quick peek at his face and saw the apprehension in his eyes. With a sigh she opened her mouth and began, “Remember when I told you about the night in the motel when my mom and my ex died?” Daryl nodded. “That night didn’t go exactly the way I told you,” she looked down at the dirt and kicked a pebble with her boot. “I told you Charles wanted to leave my family behind, that he beat me when I said no, and that something snapped and I remembered how to fight back when he took a swing at Ally?”

Madison raised her head, but couldn’t look Daryl in the eye and stared off into the fields over his right shoulder, “What I didn’t mention was he wasn’t trying to hit her, he had a knife in his hand and was going to stab her. He had it in his mind that if she and my mom were dead, I’d leave with him. I fought back and he turned the knife on me. He threw me on the bed, pinned me down and held his knife to my throat, but I was able to grab my knife off the nightstand and I stabbed him before he could kill me.” Daryl opened his mouth to speak, Madison’s confession taking him completely by surprise, but she pressed on before he had the chance, her voice cracking, “I killed my fiancé. It was in self-defense; you know the kind of man he was..." She paused to compose herself, "I did what I had to do; I eliminated the threat, to keep myself and my family safe.” With tears in her eyes she finally met Daryl’s gaze as she wrung her hands in front of her, “But not a day goes by that I don’t wish I could undo what I did. Killing someone, guilty or innocent, eats away at your soul. I don’t want this for you.”

Daryl’s face was full of compassion as he stepped closer to her and Madison started crying when she realized he wasn’t going to leave her because of her past. He took her hands in his and held them against his chest as he leaned down and rested his forehead on hers; in a raspy voice he whispered to her, “Then ya get it, sometimes y’ain’t got a choice?”

“But this time you do.”

Rick cleared his throat to announce his arrival, “Daryl, it’s time.” Daryl looked at him and nodded, Rick returned the nod and stepped away to give Daryl and Madison a minute.

“Daryl, please. You don’t have to do this!” she pleaded, desperately clinging to his hands.

“Maddie,” he whispered, “E'erythin’ ya said, the regret an' how it changes ya, all that’s worth it if it keeps ya safe.”

“But my life isn’t worth more than Randall’s.”

“T’me it is,” he gave her hands one last powerful squeeze before he let her go and took a step towards Rick, “I’m sorry Maddie.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next installment, I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks to everyone for reading it. As always, I only own Madison, I own nothing from The Walking Dead.

With a heavy heart Madison watched Daryl and Rick join Shane and make their way to the shed where Randall was being held captive. She didn’t know where to go or what to do with herself and contemplated looking for Dale, but quickly decided against it and trudged back to her tent instead; if Dale was feeling anything like she was at the moment, he needed to be alone. ‘You’ll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we’re slaughtering a human being.’ Dale’s words echoed in her mind and she couldn’t bring herself to crawl into her tent. With a heavy sigh she pulled her sweater closed, wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the cold, and looked up at the stars; giving in to nostalgia, she tried to remember life before the world turned upside down. Her musings were interrupted by an agonized scream piercing the darkness and she bolted in the direction it came from without a second thought.

“Help! Over here!” Daryl’s voice rang out through the night, pushing Madison’s feet to run even faster; if anything had happened to him and she wasn’t there… She shoved her worries aside the best she could as she burst into the field and saw two figures in the darkness; one lying still on the ground and one bent over the still figure. The hunched figure looked up as Madison approached, “Maddie, one them dead bastards got Dale! I don’t know what t’do, can’t let ‘im die!”

The relief that Daryl was all right was quickly replaced by anguish when she looked down and saw Dale, gutted and pale, drowning in his own blood. She immediately knew nothing could be done for him, but she refused to accept the truth. Deep in denial she sputtered, “We need, um...we need to get this bleeding under control.” She knelt beside Dale, shed her sweater, and tried to use it to stem the bleeding as she replaced the organs spilling out of his torso. “We’re here Dale, you’ll be all right. We’ve got you,” she assured the dying man, taking his hand in hers.

“C’mon ol’ man, yer gonna be okay. Ya did it, Dale; the kid’s still alive. Ya gotta live s'ya can rub Shane’s smug face in it,” Daryl implored. Madison knew her eyes were most likely playing tricks on her, but she thought she saw traces of a smile on Dale’s lips at the news about Randall.

“Who is it?” Andrea called as she raced over, alerting Daryl and Madison that help was on the way.

“Help! Run!” Daryl shouted across the field to the others before turning back to Dale, “Hang in there, buddy.”

Daryl stood and backed away from Dale as Rick rushed forward, letting him have room to assess the situation. “All right, just listen to my voice,” Rick pleaded with Dale, kneeling over him and looking him in the eye. “Listen to me, all right? Just listen to me.” Dale nodded slightly, holding on tightly to Madison’s hand as the pain worsened. “Ok, hold on now,” Rick instructed. He turned to the group and yelled, “Get Hershel! He needs blood. We gotta operate now.”

Andrea knelt beside Rick and took Dale’s other hand, “Hang on, Dale. Hang on.”

Rick kept talking to Dale, trying to keep him calm and focused on his voice rather than the pain, “Listen to me. Okay, listen to my voice, all right? Please.” He looked away from Dale and yelled over his shoulder again, “Hershel! We need Hershel!”

Everyone hovered over Dale throwing out words of encouragement and insisting that he hold on a bit longer. Madison watched as his eyes grew wider and panic set in and she started crying; no longer fooling herself into believing that he would somehow survive. “It’s all right, we’re here Dale, we’re here,” she whispered.

Daryl pulled Madison to her feet and away from Dale when Hershel finally arrived so he would have room to work. She fought against him at first, not wanting to let go of Dale's hand, but eventually gave in and turned to Daryl, buried her face against his chest, and sobbed. Daryl wrapped an arm around Madison’s shoulders and gently ran his fingers through her hair with his free hand. “Shhh, Maddie. It’ll be okay. E’erythin’ll be fine,” he whispered to her, not believing a word. He was in disbelief; Dale wasn’t supposed to die, this couldn’t really be happening.

“He’s suffering,” Andrea weakly cried, “Do something!”

Rick drew his gun and aimed it at Dale’s head and Dale nodded slightly to him, begging to be put out of his misery. Madison turned her head to see what was happening and gasped when she saw the gun. Daryl watched the struggle play out on Rick’s face as he tried to find the strength to kill his friend.  He could see that Rick wasn’t going to be able to do it and he realized what he had to do. Daryl hugged Madison tightly, “This ain’t right, Dale don’t deserve t’suffer. I gotta do somethin’. Don’t look.” He pressed his lips softly to the top of her head, so softly that she wasn’t sure if she really had felt what she thought she had, and stepped towards Rick and took the gun from his hand. Rick gave Daryl a grateful nod and Daryl focused on Dale. Through tear blurred eyes, Madison watched Daryl kneel down next to Dale and point the gun to his head. Dale lifted his head up as far as he could to meet the barrel of the gun and the relief it promised. With a deep breath Daryl found his nerve and quietly apologized to Dale, “Sorry, brother,” and pulled the trigger.

Madison’s stomach lurched with the sound of the gunshot and she stumbled away from the group a few paces before falling to her knees and emptying her stomach into some tall grass. A few moments later she felt a familiar hand caress her back as she continued to heave.  Once the retching passed, she looked up to find Daryl kneeling beside her; his face was composed, all traces of emotion gone except for the worried lines etched in his forehead and the torment in his eyes. She lovingly pressed her hand to his cheek and traced his cheekbone with her thumb, wishing she could take his pain away. Habit told her to ask if he was okay, but she knew that was the stupidest question she could possibly ask him right now. “Daryl, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” she soothed, her words feeling inadequate as they left her lips. “What can I do for you? Tell me what you need,” she pleaded with him.

“Jus’ need a minute,” Daryl sighed, pulling her closer and clinging to her as though his sanity depended on it. Madison held onto him just as tightly as she tried to hold her grief in and be strong for him, but soon tears began to well in her eyes and she quietly sniffed them back. “I’m sorry too,” he whispered in her ear, the combination of his deep voice and warm breath on her skin sending an involuntary shiver down her spine.

“It’s not safe out here; we gotta get back to the house. Shane, T, help me carry Dale to camp, we’ll bury him properly in the mornin',” Rick informed the group of his plan. Everyone except Daryl and Madison did as they were told and started slowly making their way back to camp. “Daryl, Madison, you too. Come on,” Rick called over his shoulder to them, “You can’t stay out here; you gotta go where it’s safer. One death is enough for the night.”

“Comin’,” Daryl mumbled, letting go of Madison and struggling to his feet. He held out his hand and helped her stand. “Let’s go,” he urged before turning to follow Rick back to the main camp while she turned back the way she came, heading towards her tent. It took only a matter of seconds for Daryl to realize that she wasn’t with him; he scanned the clearing and saw her wandering off by herself and jogged over to her. “Nope, this way. C’mon,” he directed, taking her hand in his and leading her in Rick’s direction.

She shook her head in confusion, but didn’t protest as he guided her forward; seeing but not comprehending her surroundings. “But our tents are that way…and my stuff. I ruined my sweater, I need something,” she reasoned, her voice shaky.

Daryl picked up speed slightly, Madison seemed to be going into shock and he wanted to get her back to camp before it settled in completely. "Rick’s right, can’t keep our distance anymore; gotta keep ya safe. Someone'll have somethin' fer ya t'borrow. Let's jus' getcha t'camp first an’ we’ll get our things in the mornin’," he coaxed her as he readjusted his arm so she could put more of her weight on him if needed as they walked.

Camp was deserted by the time they arrived; the others having gone directly into their tents after the strain of the evening. Daryl sat Madison down, shivering, on the porch swing in the center of camp then ran inside Dale’s RV, feeling a bit like a grave robber rummaging through Dale’s possessions for something to keep Madison warm. In the dim light from the dying campfire Madison could see the blood drying on her hands from her futile attempt to save Dale’s life. The bucket used for washing the group’s laundry was next to the swing; it was full of cold, dirty water, but it was good enough to wash the blood off of her hands. When her hands were clean she dumped the water out on the ground so the bloody water wouldn't get reused by mistake. She looked up when she heard Daryl step out of the RV, carrying a worn quilt. He held it out to Madison and she just stared at it, “Is that Dale’s?”

“Yeah,” Daryl sighed casting his eyes down to the ground.

Madison shook her head, “Thanks, but no. It doesn’t feel right taking his stuff.”

Daryl fought to keep his temper in check, his nerves were beyond frayed from trying to make peace with the fact that he’d just killed a man; it was a mercy killing and it was the right thing to do, Dale didn’t deserve to die a slow, painful death, but Madison was right and it was taking a toll on him. He took a long, deep breath before responding; he knew she wasn’t intentionally being difficult and he had to cut her some slack because of her emotional state, but now she was just being stupid. “Don’t be an idiot,” he grumbled as he took a seat next to her and wrapped the quilt around her shoulders, ignoring her protests. “Yer cold an’ in shock. If Dale was ‘ere, ya know he’d wan’ya t'take it.” She couldn’t argue with him and nodded in compliance. Smirking at his victory, Daryl wrapped the blanket around her tighter and rubbed her arms to warm her up.

She rolled her eyes at him, “You don’t have to be so smug about it.”

He gave a low, throaty chuckle before responding, “Feels good t’be right fer once.” He let go of Madison’s arms and tried to lean back into a more comfortable position on the old, rickety swing. Once he was situated he rested his arm on the back of the swing and motioned Madison to him, “C’mon, Maddie. Ya really should try t’sleep.”

“I don’t know what good it’ll do, but okay,” she sighed. She shrugged the quilt off of her shoulders and unfolded it to its full size and spread it out over both of them as took her place in Daryl’s arms. She placed her hand on his chest and rested her cheek on her hand, “You’re going to be so uncomfortable come morning.”

He brought his arm off the back of the swing and wrapped it around Madison, amazed that by simply having her next to him, he felt better. “Don’t worry ‘bout it,” he quietly reassured her, his deep voice resonating in his chest as he spoke, “Had worse night’s sleep than this.” He’d offered to stay on the swing with her because he wanted to make sure was all right, but mostly his reasons were selfish; he needed her tonight more than she needed him. He didn’t want to be alone with the memories of Dale’s body going limp and his lifeless eyes staring up at him that plagued him every time he closed his eyes; and although Madison’s presence didn’t make those images go away, they were a lot easier to bear with her by his side.

Daryl could feel the tension leaving his body; he closed his eyes and before long he was asleep. Madison listened to his slow, relaxed breaths and tried to synchronize her breathing with his to help her calm down. To her surprise it worked and she started thinking she might be able to get some sleep after all. A door to a nearby tent abruptly unzipped, the late hour amplifying the small sound. Startled, Madison lifted her head slightly to see who was leaving, relaxing again when she saw it was just Maggie sneaking out of Glenn’s tent. “Gotcha,” she whispered to her friend, careful not to wake Daryl.

Maggie jumped, “Looks like Glenn’s not the only one who didn’t want to be alone tonight.” Madison held a finger to her lips, casting a wary glance at Daryl’s sleeping face. “What are you two doin’ here anyway? Isn’t your stuff out in the middle of nowhere?”

“Daryl decided after what happened to Dale it wasn’t safe for us to stay out there tonight. He even mentioned bringing our stuff back to camp in the morning.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Maggie agreed. “I bet I know the answer, but do you want to sleep in the house tonight? It’ll be warmer and more comfortable for you.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Madison quietly answered, sneaking another quick peek at Daryl, “There’s no way I’d be more comfortable inside than I am right now.”

“‘Yeah, that’s what I figured,” Maggie grinned then walked back to her house, leaving Madison behind, shaking her head, before trying to once again to get to a point where she could sleep.

The bright morning sun hitting his face pulled Daryl from a restless sleep; he glanced down at the redhead still asleep in his arms and smiled, completely content in the moment aside from his aching back. Movement across camp caught his eye and he saw Carol returning from the chicken coup, watching him and Madison with a bitter expression as she got closer. She quickly looked away when she and Daryl made brief, awkward eye contact. The look Carol gave him made him incredibly uncomfortable; he wasn’t ready for Madison to know how he felt about her, let alone anyone else in camp. He had to wake her up and get her off of him, hopefully without a repeat of the morning after he was shot, before the others surfaced. “Maddie?” he whispered, but she didn’t respond so he continued a little louder, lightly shaking her, “Maddie?” She woke up, still looking completely exhausted, and looked at him. “Can ya sit up? M'back’s killin’ me,” Daryl finished, deciding that that half of the truth was better than reopening the can of worms from the other morning.

Madison felt terrible and immediately sat up straight, “I’m so sorry. You should’ve said something sooner, I could’ve moved.”

Daryl stood up and stretched his back, neck, and shoulders out, “Ain’t nothin’ t’be sorry fer, didn’t say somethin’ ‘til it hurt.”

“Ok, if you say so. I’ll play along and pretend like nothing else is going on.”

“Like what?”

“This is like the other morning, right? You want to keep our-your business private?”

Daryl exhaled in disbelief, “Yer annoyin'ly perceptive.” He caught her eyes for a moment, “Ya’lright with that?” Madison smiled up at him and nodded; of course she wished they were in a different place, but as long as he still wanted to spend time with her she couldn’t complain.

“Am I interruptin'?” Rick asked as he walked up, entertaining himself by giving Daryl and Madison a hard time. Daryl could, and had, deny that anything was going on with Madison until he was blue in the face, but Rick wasn't stupid; he knew what he got in the middle of the night before when he came to get Daryl.

“No,” Daryl growled, narrowing his eyes at Rick, silently warning him to drop it before changing the subject, “Lot’s happened in the las’ few hours, what needs doin'?”

“Well, we still need to dig Dale’s grave, so the funeral won’t be for a while,” Rick stated.

Daryl nodded and surveyed the fields, thoughtfully rubbing his chin as he spoke, “Gotta figure out where that walker got in at, that’s priority.”

“I agree. You wanna take two or three people out and check the fences? Try to find the breech and I’ll try to get things organized here,” Rick delegated and Madison suppressed a proud smile; she loved seeing Rick acknowledge the potential Daryl had, that he had more to offer than just doing Rick’s dirty work. She also noticed a change in Daryl; he was holding his head higher as he spoke with Rick and he was standing taller. Rick was turning to Daryl as his number two and Madison was overjoyed to see Daryl take pride in himself.

“I’m on it,” Daryl agreed without hesitation. “What we gonna do ‘bout Randall?”

Forgetting that she wasn’t part of their conversation, Madison interjected, looking back and forth between the two men standing in front of her; her eyes settling on Daryl, “Wait, you meant it? That wasn't just something you said to make Dale happy at the end? Randall’s alive?” He nodded to her and she turned to Rick, “What changed your mind?”

Rick sighed before answering, “Carl followed us to the barn and wanted to watch Randall’s execution.” He then looked to Daryl, explaining to him as well as Madison, “I couldn’t let my boy see somethin' like, couldn’t let him be excited about endin' a life.”

Daryl said nothing and just nodded at Rick, Madison spoke up, “No, of course you couldn’t. You made the right call.”

“Still gotta decide what the hell t’do with ‘im,” Daryl pointed out.

“I was thinkin’ you and I could go ahead and drop him off somewhere like we were gonna do before; it was the right plan from the start. We’ll go after Dale’s service before it gets dark, that sound all right with you?” Rick asked.

“Fine by me,” Daryl replied and Rick left to go check on his family.

After Rick was out of earshot, Madison turned to Daryl and slapped his arm, “Where did that come from?” Daryl gave her a quizzical look. “It’s good to see Rick wising up and putting his trust in a good man to help him run things for a change.”

Uncomfortable with Madison’s praise, Daryl folded his arms and looked down, “Ain’t gonna last, Maddie. ‘im an’ Shane’ll make up soon an’ e’erythin’ll be back t’normal.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that if I were you, I think you need to get used to the fact that Rick looks to you now.”

Daryl’s lips curved in a pleased half smile, “Ya comin’ t'check fences or what?”

Madison nodded and stood to join Daryl as he started walking towards Andrea to recruit her. She paused and thought for a moment before calling out to him, “Daryl, on second thought maybe I shouldn’t. I’m still not thinking clearly after...everything last night and I might be more trouble than I’m worth out there. I don’t want to get anyone hurt because I can’t focus, sorry.”

“Sorry? That’s prob’ly the smartest decision ya’ve made since I met ya,” Daryl replied, his eyes twinkling as he teased her. He took a few steps closer to her and could see she was frustrated with herself. He knew she hated feeling useless as much as he did so he quickly came up with a job for her, “Jus’ stay close t’the others an’ don’t go wanderin’ by yerself. Maybe pack some food an’ things fer the kid t’take with ‘im?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” she said brightly, thankful for a way to contribute. He touched her arm then turned around to get a group together and head out.

Madison started gathering provisions for Randall to take, looking for non-perishable food items the group wouldn’t miss too much. She started her search in the RV, holding on to the belief that Dale would give what he could to keep Randall alive. The kitchenette cupboards were pretty well picked over, but she did find a few cans of soup, a handful of granola bars, and two bottles of water. Madison set them on the counter and frowned, that wasn’t much. She sighed; she was going to have to go to Maggie, again, and ask for food from her family, again. It dawned on her that she needed to find something to put the supplies in that Randall could carry with him. After rooting around the RV for a few minutes she found her satchel bag that once held her meagre food supply and decided that it would do nicely for him. Madison sat down and scanned the RV, looking for ideas of things he would need, but she knew every idea she came up with would get vetoed immediately; ideas like giving him a knife to protect himself from walkers or a map so he wouldn’t be wandering aimlessly through the forest. The thought struck her that he would need a jacket or blanket and she stood and looked through the closet for something to keep him warm; she was so wrapped up in her search that she didn’t hear or see Carol enter the RV and jumped when she spoke.

“Can I help you find something?” Carol asked with a friendly smile on her face, though her eyes were cold. She had been perfectly pleasant to Madison since she apologized for what she said about Ally, but Madison still felt like was on the defense anytime she spoke with Carol.

“No, I think I’m okay. Daryl asked me to put together some supplies for Randall when he and Rick cut him loose this afternoon and I just thought he would need a jacket or something like that.”

“Try back in the bedroom. Is this all you’ve got?” Carol asked pointing to the small amount of supplies on the counter. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth, pleased that it seemed like Madison was doing a poor job.

Madison sighed, “Yeah. I don’t want to take too much and make the group suffer and our canned food is getting pretty low. I was going to ask Maggie if they had anything I could add.”

"If I see anything around camp I'll let you know." Carol was silent for a moment before she spoke again, “So Rick’s taking Daryl with him, not Shane?”

“That’s what he said this morning. Success!” She called from the bedroom when she found an old sweatshirt. “I think it’s great that Rick is turning to Daryl more, don’t you?”

“I don’t know, I think Rick is using him so he doesn’t have to get his hands dirty,” Carol shrugged, “It’s not right.”

Madison looked up from stuffing the supplies she’d found in the satchel, “That’s not it at all. Rick was asking Daryl’s opinions and taking his suggestions, I think they’ll make a good team and it’s so good for Daryl.”

“But Daryl is a follower, not a leader; he used to follow his brother around and now with him gone, Daryl’s looking for someone else to shadow. Rick knows this and will take advantage of it.”

Before another fight started, Madison threw the satchel over her shoulder and started walking past Carol and to the door; before she left she turned to Carol, “Maybe he’s been a follower because no one has given him the opportunity to prove himself. I have no idea what he was like when Merle was around, but from what I’ve seen he’s always had potential to be great.” Madison stared Carol down, “Just because he’s quiet, doesn’t mean he isn’t a leader.” She yanked the door open and stormed out of the RV, letting the door slam behind her.

Madison strode to the Greene’s home and sat on the porch to distance herself from Carol; Carol professed to care so much for Daryl’s well-being, how could she think so little of him and his abilities? Soon Daryl and his team returned from checking the fences and not long after that Dale’s funeral service started. Daryl and Madison walked over to the grave together, Madison still visibly upset over her argument with Carol. “Who pissed in yer cornflakes?” Daryl asked her.

Madison smiled in spite of herself, “Carol.”

“Think I need t’post a guard t’keep ya away from each other. What happened this time?”

“Some personalities just don’t mesh well,” Madison answered vaguely, there was no way she was going to tell Daryl the truth; he didn’t need to know about Carol doubting him.

Everyone stood in a semi-circle around the beginnings of the small cemetery on the Greene’s property; everyone, that is, except for Daryl and Madison who stood behind the rest of the group. “Daryl, you’ve earned your place with the rest of them, you don’t have to stand back here,” Madison promised, nudging the man beside her.

He stood with his head down and arms folded, the same torment in his eyes from the night before as he struggled with his conscience over killing Dale. He shook his head and whispered, “I do when I’m the one pulled the damn trigger.” Unsure what to say to comfort him, Madison reached up and rubbed Daryl’s back, trying to soothe him.

The time came and Rick gave Dale’s eulogy, “Dale could...could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, because he wasn’t afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I’d make a decision, I’d look at Dale. He’d be lookin’ back at me with that look he had; we’ve all seen it one time or another.” Madison smiled, thinking back of all the times she’d see Dale’s look. She dropped her hand from Daryl’s back and wiped away a few rogue tears. “I couldn’t always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us, the truth, who we really are.” Daryl glanced at Madison as Rick spoke, thinking back to how, on her first night in camp, Dale had already figured out that Daryl cared for Madison, long before he knew it himself. Daryl took her small hand in his as Rick continued, "In the end, he was talkin’ about losin’ our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feelin’ sorry for ourselves, and take control of our lives, our safety, our future. We’re not broken. We’re gonna prove him wrong. From now on, we’re gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale.”

After a moment of silence to honor Dale’s memory; ironic, Madison thought, considering Dale was probably never silent in his life, everyone returned to camp including Hershel and his family. “Rick,” the older man began, “I think it’s time we move your people into the house.”

Rick looked at Hershel in surprise, “Gonna be tight, fourteen people in one house.”

“Don’t worry about that; with the swamp hardenin’, the creek dryin’ up…” Hershel explained.

Maggie interjected, “With fifty head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringin’ a damn dinner bell.”

Looking at his oldest daughter Hershel agreed, “She’s right. We should’ve moved you in a while ago.”

Rick immediately started barking orders and passing out assignments. Once Rick was finished, Daryl led Madison back to their camp to gather their belongings; neither of them had much so moving was fairly easy. They strapped what they could onto Daryl’s motorcycle and Madison carried the rest as they made their way back towards the house; Madison on foot and Daryl riding the bike as slowly as he could next to her. When they reached the house, Daryl parked his bike then helped Madison unload and set everything down next to it. “Did ya get the stuff together fer Randall?”

“Most of it. There wasn’t much in the RV, so I’m going to talk to Maggie and see if they have anything I can throw in there.” Madison chewed on her bottom lip before deciding to go ahead and ask, “I’m assuming the idea of giving him a knife or something to fight off walkers with isn’t up for discussion?” Daryl slowly stood up and turned to look at her, his face contorted into an expression of utter confusion and disbelief. Before he could answer her she rushed on, “Okay, that look says everything. Forget I asked.” She quickly grabbed an armful of their belongings and made her escape into the house, glancing over her shoulder at Daryl to see him shaking his head at her with a smirk on his face as he met Rick to discuss plans for the drop off.

While Daryl spoke with Rick, Madison finished getting their stuff inside and claimed a spot on the floor for each of them to sleep. After that, she tracked down Maggie, who was all too happy to load Madison up with some more provisions for Randall. Knowing they’d be leaving soon, Madison carried the satchel outside to load in the truck. T-Dog was talking to Daryl and she didn’t want to interrupt, especially once Rick joined them, so she leaned against the railing, watching Daryl with a soft smile on her face. She didn’t hear Maggie sneak up on her, “You’re starin’. At least try to be subtle about it.”

Daryl looked up when Maggie spoke and saw Madison looking at him, he met her gaze and chuckled when she blushed and looked away, “Gimme a sec, Rick.”

Rick glanced over at Madison and laughed, “You got it. Don’t take too long.”

“I’ll get the package,” T volunteered before making his way to where Randall was being held.

Daryl ambled over to the house and stood next to the railing in front of Madison who held out Randall’s provisions to him. “You said no knives so I made sure to put a taser and a semi-automatic in there.”

“'lright, long as there’s no extra ammo in there, I ain’t seein’ a problem,” he joked, taking the bag from her. “Our stuff’s gone; ya get that all inside yerself?”

“Yeah, I hope that’s okay. I put your stuff in the study by the door so you could be away from everybody.”

“Hopefully not e’erybody,” Daryl said, lowering his voice and looking in her eyes, giving her butterflies in the pit of her stomach.

“Hershel is insisting on men and women in separate rooms, but I put my stuff just on the other side of the doorway,” she breathed, lowering her voice to match his.

“That’s fine, but it ain’t what I meant. Ya know I was wantin’ t’bunk with Jimmy.” He winked at her with a lopsided smirk and tossed the supplies in the back of the truck.

T-Dog came back, running at top speed, “He’s gone!”

Madison sprinted from the porch to the truck and stood by Daryl, “Who’s gone? Randall?”

“Yeah.” T-Dog answered Madison. “I took the lock off the door and when I looked inside he was gone. Looks like he slipped the cuffs, they’re still there.”

“What’s going on?” Andrea asked, joining the group by the truck, drawn over by all the commotion.

Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder and answered, “Damn kid escaped.”

“Show us,” Rick instructed T-Dog, glancing at Daryl to see if he was on board. The three men took off running, Andrea and Madison only a few steps behind; soon the rest of the group joined them as they followed the rush of people.

Madison drew her gun when she arrived near the shed and scanned the tree line for signs of danger. Daryl walked out of the shed and came up to her and put his hand on the small of her back to get her attention. Startled, she whipped around and faced him, “Ya okay?” She gave him a quick nod in reply and focused her attention back to the trees while he looked for tracks to follow.

“Rick! Rick!” Shane bellowed, emerging from the forest covered in blood, “He’s armed! He’s got my gun!”

“Are you okay?” Carl shouted.

Shane strode to the group, “I’m fine. Little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face.”

The news that Randall was missing and armed hit the group hard and Rick jumped into action, “All right, Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us.”

Hershel kindly, but firmly grabbed Madison’s arm to lead her back inside; she broke free from his grasp and chased after Daryl and the others. “Madison, get back here,” Hershel called.

Daryl turned to see what was going on, irritated, but not completely surprised to see Madison only a few paces behind him, “What d’ya think yer doin’? Get in the house!”

“I can help find Randall. I’m not going to sit around and do nothing.” Madison stepped closer to Daryl, her proximity clouding his mind, and lowered her voice so only he could hear her, “Look at Shane, his eyes are wild; he’s dangerous.”

“If Madison is going, so am I,” Andrea chimed in.

Rick heard Andrea and yelled over his shoulder, “No, you’re not. Neither of you are comin'!”

“Listen t’me an’ stay here,” Daryl told Madison.

“But Daryl...” she pleaded, concern for his safety written all over her face.

“But nothin’!” Daryl cut her off, yelling to get her to listen to him, “Dammit Maddie, I can’t think straight when yer ‘round an’ I gotta be able t’concentrate out there, but it ain’t gonna happen if I’m worried ‘bout the woman I love gettin’ ‘erself hurt or killed in the woods.” His heart stopped as he heard what just slipped, rather loudly, out of his mouth, but he was too worked up to try and cover it up. In a way he was almost relieved, he’d wanted to tell her how he felt for a long time, it wasn’t ideal, but at least now she knew.

Madison’s eyes went wide and her mouth fell open; surely she’d misheard him, “What did you say? Woman you...what?”

“Daryl, come on, let’s go!” Glenn shouted.

Daryl waved him off, unshouldered his crossbow and turned to Madison once more before leaving, “Shut yer mouth, Buster. Ya look like a damn trout. Now get inside an’ stay there.”

Madison felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Hershel standing next to her. He smiled kindly at her, “Best do what he says. Let’s get you safe, come on.”

Madison tried to answer Hershel, but couldn’t get her voice to work and could only nod weakly as she tried to process what Daryl just said. Hershel led her to the house and she kept looking behind her, watching Daryl disappear into the woods. “Please be safe,” she whispered to no one in particular when she couldn’t see him anymore.

Daryl caught up with the others and they marched into the woods; he could feel someone’s eyes on him and he glanced to his left to see Glenn staring at him, “What?”

“Dude, really?” Glenn asked Daryl gesturing back to the house making it obvious he was questioning Daryl’s timing with Madison; the younger man had a knack for missing the bigger picture.

“Shut up,” Daryl growled, taking one last look behind him to be certain that Madison was safely back at the house.

The sun slipped beyond the horizon and darkness fell on the farm, causing Madison’s anxiety to rise. She paced across the living room of the Greene’s home, staring out the window and jumping at any little sound. “Will someone please make her stop?” Carol groaned.

“Madison, will you please stop moving. You’re making everyone nervous,” Lori begged. “Come sit by me and try to relax.”

“They should’ve been back by now. How can you just sit there, aren’t you worried?” Madison asked, pushing her right hand through her hair.

Lori sighed, “Of course I’m worried, but making everyone uncomfortable won’t make them get here any sooner.”

“Uh huh,” Madison scoffed and strode to the door.

“Where you think you’re goin'?” T-Dog called after her.

“Outside where I won’t make everyone uncomfortable by caring,” she fumed, slamming the door behind her. Grumbling to herself like a crazy person, Madison sat down on the porch steps and scanned the darkness, looking for any sign of them, her leg bouncing up and down with pent up nervous energy.

A few seconds later Maggie followed her outside and took a seat next to her on the steps, “Mind tellin’ me where that came from?”

“You can’t tell me you’re not freaking out too, with Glenn out there?”

“I’ll be glad when he’s back, sure; but I don’t think anythin' bad’s gonna happen out there. He’s got people to watch his back. So does Daryl. He’ll be fine,” Maggie calmly answered, trying to soothe Madison. “Daryl’s gone off in the forest before and you haven’t been like this, what’s goin' on?”

Madison looked at Maggie. “I don’t trust Shane. Did you see the wild look in his eyes earlier?” She sighed and shook her head before continuing, “Everything’s different now. Did you hear what Daryl said when they left?”

Maggie smiled, pleased to be getting to the bottom of Madison's strange behavior. “I think everyone heard, he kinda yelled it at you,” Maggie chuckled as Madison groaned into her hands. “So what now?”

“I figure out if he meant it or not…”

Maggie cut her off mid-sentence, “Men like Daryl don’t say that unless they mean it.”

Madison contemplated what Maggie said; she knew Maggie was right, but she couldn’t wrap her mind around how anyone could love someone as messed up as she was. “You’re right,” she took a deep breath, “Then I guess I say it back next time I see him.”

Maggie beamed at the woman next to her. She looked back towards the fields and saw two men approaching and her smile broadened as she whispered, “Here’s your chance.” Madison looked up and relief washed over her as Glenn and Daryl walked towards them.

Glenn leaned in and gave Maggie a quick kiss and Daryl squeezed Madison’s hand. “How did it go out there?” Madison asked Daryl, squeezing his hand in return.

“Fine,” Daryl answered then, turning to Maggie, he continued, “Yer boy there saved my life, Randall attacked me, but Glenn pulled the son of a bitch off me.”

“What happened? I thought he had Shane’s gun,” Maggie asked.

Daryl shook his head, “‘e’s a walker, but it don’t add up...c’mon. We’ll explain inside.”

Maggie and Glenn walked inside and Madison stopped Daryl before he reached the door, asking quietly, “But you’re okay? He didn’t get you?”

“Nah. Was a close call, but I’m fine.”

“Were you able to find the walker that bit him?”

Daryl shook his head, “No, he weren’t bit. That’s the strange part.” Before she could ask him any other questions he opened the door for her and guided her inside. “Rick an’ Shane ain’t back?” he asked Madison as they joined everyone else in the living room.

“No,” Lori answered him.

“We heard a shot,” Daryl exclaimed.

Lori grasped for an explanation, “Maybe they found Randall.”

“We found ‘im,” Daryl shot down Lori’s theory.

“Is he back in the shed?” Carol interjected.

Daryl shook his head, “‘e’s a walker.”

“The weird thing is he wasn’t bit,” Glenn added.

“‘is neck was broke,” Daryl explained further.

Patricia quietly asked, “So he fought back?”

“The thing is, Shane and Randall’s tracks were right on top of each other an’ Shane ain’t no tracker,” Daryl glanced at Madison, silently sharing his suspicions with her, “So 'e didn’t come up behind 'im. They were t’gether.”

Now it was Lori’s turn to panic and she approached Daryl and begged, “Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane, and find out what on earth is going on?”

“You got it,” Daryl said with a nod and turned to leave.

Madison left with him, determined to figure out what was happening, “There’s more going on here, isn’t there? Do you think Shane…”

“Killed Randall?” Daryl finished her sentence, “No question. I gotta get back out there. Rick’s in deep shit an' don’t even know it.”

“You’re going alone? Should I get Glenn?”

“I’ll be all right, Maddie. It’ll be faster jus’ me out there,” Daryl assured her.

Without thinking, Madison threw her arms around him and whispered in his ear, “Just promise you’ll come back to me in one piece.”

“Promise,” Daryl said quietly, holding her for a few seconds before pulling away to go find Rick before something awful happened. He turned to leave and glanced at the barn then stopped in his tracks, “What the hell?”

“What is it?” Madison asked. She peered into the darkness and saw what Daryl was looking at; a giant herd of walkers was heading right for them. Andrea and Glenn joined them outside and gasped when they saw the size of the herd. Daryl and Madison looked at each other, asking without words if the other was okay, and Daryl took her hand in his as he tried to think of a plan of attack.

Others were filtering on to the porch, Hershel among them. “Patricia, kill the lights,” he whispered.

“I’ll get the guns,” Andrea announced.

“Maybe they’re just passing like the herd on the highway. Should we just go inside?” Glenn asked, hoping the situation wasn’t as dire as it seemed.

“Not unless there’s a tunnel downstairs I don’t know ‘bout,” Daryl responded, “A herd that size would rip the house down.”

“But if they don’t know we’re here, they’ll just go around the house, right?” Madison asked, doing her best not to panic. Daryl shook his head in response.

Lori burst through the front door, “Carl’s gone!”

“What?” Daryl asked.

“He, he was upstairs. I can’t find him anymore,” Lori sputtered, nearing hysterics.

Glenn tried to calm her down, “Maybe he’s hiding.”

“He’s supposed to be upstairs; I’m not leaving without my boy!”

“We’re not,” Carol assured Lori, leading her back inside, “We’re gonna look again. We’re gonna find him.”

Maggie and Andrea started handing out guns to those still on the porch. Daryl shook his head, “I got the number; it’s no use.”

Madison looked at him as she took a gun from Andrea, “That’s it? You’re giving up? There has to be something we can do!”

“You can go if you want,” Hershel told the rest.

“Ya gonna take ‘em all on?” Daryl questioned.

Hershel cocked his shotgun as he replied, “We have guns; we have cars.”

Andrea elaborated on Hershel’s suggestion, “Kill as many as we can and we’ll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm.”

“That could work; we take the cars in different directions and thin out the herd as we go. No one should get too outnumbered,” Madison suggested, jumping on board with the plan.

“Are ya serious?” Daryl asked her, convinced their plan was suicide.

“This is my farm,” Hershel answered, “I’ll die here.”

Giving in, Daryl shrugged, “'lright, it’s as good a night as any.”

Madison realized that they could very well die tonight, that their plan was far from foolproof and she reached for Daryl’s arm and pulled him back to her, “Daryl, wait. I...I…” Why couldn’t she make herself say it?

He looked down at her and cupped her cheek with his hand, and quietly said in a husky voice, “It’s okay, tell me when I get back.” Daryl gazed in Madison’s eyes and brought his face a fraction of an inch closer to hers and stopped. He shook his head to clear his mind and hopped the railing, sprinting to his motorcycle and driving away into the night.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I just want to say that I can't believe I've made it this far, I'm just about ready to tackle Season 3. It's been an incredible learning experience and I'm excited to continue and improve. It feels like an appropriate time to shout out two of my best friends, Bethani and Felesha, for helping me through this journey. They've been everything from sounding boards to critics to research consultants (I'm talking to you Felesha). Bethani has been by my side from day one and encouraged me to keep going, I wouldn't have made it past chapter 3 without her, and Felesha's enthusiasm has been contagious and she has done an excellent job supplying me with inspiration. Thanks, ladies; I couldn't have done this without your help!
> 
> Second of all, I want to apologize that this update took a little longer to get out. A family member is having some medical issues and I've come home for a few weeks to help out. I wasn't sure if being here and having time off work would mean I'd be able to write more or less, and it's looking like less. I'm still working and still trying to get the updates out as fast as I can, but bare with me for the next few weeks. That being said, I'm really happy with this update and I hope you all are too. I still don't own any part of TWD, I only own Madison.

Madison watched Daryl roar away on his motorcycle; swallowing back her anxieties and shoving the worry from her mind she turned around to the group on the porch, “Where do you need me?” Glenn and Maggie glanced at each other, questioning the emotional girl's ability to deal with the threat facing them. Irritated, Madison exhaled, “I’m fine! Give me something to do, where do you need me?”

“Can you shoot?” Glenn asked, casting a skeptical look at her; she nodded in reply.

“Okay, then you’re with us; I’ll drive, you and Glenn’ll shoot as we go,” Maggie made the executive decision. The three of them raced to the nearest car, a light sea foam Hyundai, and jumped in; Glenn taking the passenger seat next to Maggie and Madison taking the back seat. Jimmy in the RV and T-Dog and Andrea in a blue pickup sped away from the house first; Maggie drove the opposite direction from the rest in an attempt to cover more ground. Madison rolled down the windows on both sides of the car so she could slide back and forth and shoot quickly at the more populated side. She looked out the window as she took stock of what weapons she had: the revolver Daryl gave her with a few fistfuls of ammo in her jacket pockets and the handgun she took from Andrea. She shook her head; it wasn’t much, she thought as she raised the handgun and started shooting, praying that her limited resources would at least make a dent.

Maggie was driving erratically, trying to avoid walkers and making it hard to shoot. “Keep it steady!” Glenn shouted over the gunfire.

“I’m trying!”

“They’re everywhere!” Madison exclaimed, sliding to the driver's side window and emptying the pistol. “Holy crap that went fast!” she muttered under her breath, tossing the empty gun to the floor and drawing her revolver.

The farm was quickly descending into chaos as the cars firing on the walkers got farther and farther away from each other and someone set fire to the barn. Madison suspected that whoever set the fire had hoped to draw the walkers in and clear the farm for the group, giving them a fighting chance, but it seemed to be drawing more walkers from the surrounding woods. Visibility was getting worse by the second, a combination of smoke from the barn and dust getting stirred up by the cars covered the farm in any eerie haze. Daryl’s face flashed across her mind and she wondered if he was okay, if he still alive; she pushed those thoughts back and focused on counting her remaining rounds. Seven, she sighed; she only had seven rounds left. She loaded the empty chambers of her revolver and pocketed the few bullets that remained. Knowing it was a waste to continue shooting; she stopped and rolled up the windows, resigned to the inevitable fact that nothing they could do would make a difference against the horde.

The blue pickup sped past them in the opposite direction, catching the three of them off guard. “Where the hell are they goin'?” Maggie asked in a tight voice, “Should I follow them?”

Glenn looked around them and saw that the walkers were closing in on the car, “I’d say yes. Swing it around, swing it around here.”

“Maggie, careful!” Madison screamed as Maggie turned the car straight into a heavy cluster of walkers.

“I can’t get through,” Maggie trembled, realizing she couldn't make it back towards the farm.

“Head out,” Glenn decided.

Maggie whipped her head around to look at him, “What?”

“Get off the farm now,” Glenn repeated, louder this time.

“Don’t say that,” Maggie begged.

“Maggie, it’s lost!” he shouted.

“The others, we can’t leave them!” Maggie argued.

Madison knew they had no other choice; they had to leave or they would die themselves, but the idea of leaving Daryl behind left her numb. “We can't leave! I can’t leave Daryl, not without knowing he's all right,” she insisted even though no one was listening.

Walkers began throwing themselves against the car and Maggie screamed as one smacked into the windshield right in front of her and she threw the car in reverse. “Get off the farm, now!” Glenn yelled again. Maggie found a path through the throng and sped into the darkness. As the farm slipped from sight, Madison looked behind them for any sign of Daryl, finding none; heartbroken, she leaned against the door and hugged her knees to her chest as she stared at the scenery blurring past the window.

From the far side of the farm Daryl watched as the barn was engulfed in flames; overcome by how quickly their sanctuary had fallen apart. He’d gotten comfortable, he’d gotten attached, and he’d known better than to let that happen. Finally, he was alone again like he’d told himself he wanted all along, only now the solitude cut like a knife; he felt incomplete without Madison with him. He couldn’t leave without her, what if she was trapped on the farm somewhere or was waiting for him and he just rode off? A shrill scream filled the air and a peculiar mixture of dread and hope swelled in Daryl’s chest as he revved his bike’s engine and drove towards the scream. “Maddie!” he called, hoping against hope that he’d found her. As he got closer he saw a woman running towards him, but he knew almost immediately that it wasn’t Madison, the disappointment knocking the wind out of him. “C’mon, I ain’t got all day!” he growled at Carol as she struggled to climb on the back of the motorcycle, her exhaustion and panic as the walkers swarmed them affecting her coordination. When she was on he sped away from the farm without looking back. He hadn’t cared what happened to him when he was alone, but now he had a purpose; he had to keep Carol safe.

The two rode in silence, Carol crying softly and Daryl struggling to keep mental images of Madison getting torn apart by one of those things and becoming one of them at bay. So many times he wanted to ask Carol if she’d seen Madison, but he could never bring himself to ask. The longer he stayed in the dark, the longer he could hold on to the dream that she was alive; but that dream was fading fast as the cold, hard reality refused to be ignored and cruelly whispered 'Maddie's dead' over and over again in his mind. With nowhere else to go, he decided to wend his way back to the highway where they’d lost Sophia; it was the only other central location everyone else knew and he was certain it was their best shot at meeting up with the others, of maybe seeing Maddie again.

Maggie kept driving with no goal in mind other than to put as much distance between them and the herd as possible. Madison was in a stupor, scarcely aware of the conversation happening in the front of the car. She managed to pick out bits and pieces and did hear Maggie asking Glenn if her father and sister made it off the farm, but his answer was far from reassuring; he didn’t know, he couldn’t see anything. Madison felt the last twinge of hope of Daryl's survival die with Glenn’s words. If Hershel and Beth didn’t make it from the safety of the house to a nearby car and then off the farm, what chance did Daryl have facing the herd alone without so much a car to offer him some sort of protection? And even if by some miracle he made it to safety, the chances of finding him again were slim to none. It was time to face facts, she would never see Daryl Dixon again; this new, dark reality sank in her heart like a stone and she buried her face in her hands and wept.

The car jerked to a stop and Glenn switched places with Maggie who was too emotional to drive as she grieved over the possible loss of her family. Glenn did his best to soothe Maggie and sweetly told her that he loved her. Madison tried not to eavesdrop on their private moment, feeling very much like the forgotten third wheel. She closed her eyes and tried to piece together what she could from the night before, trying to make sense of the chaos and remember who went in which direction, hoping to unearth some clue as to Daryl’s whereabouts. It was no use, all she could picture was him hopping the railing and riding away on his bike. The numbness was setting in again, a welcome relief from the gut wrenching pain she had been feeling minutes earlier. They started moving again; Madison heard Glenn say something about heading back to the highway and she thought that it was as good a plan as any, which wasn't saying much. She stared out the window, not making sense of the shapes whizzing by, tenderly running her fingers over the leather cuff on her arm; this was all she had left of Daryl and she vowed to never take it off so she would always have a tiny piece of him with her.

Several silent minutes passed. “Are you doing okay back there?” Glenn quietly asked Madison, glancing in the rearview mirror.

“Terrific,” she sighed.

Maggie turned in her seat and gave her a sympathetic smile, “You worried about Daryl?” Madison nodded with a humorless chuckle; what kind of stupid question was that? “Don’t be. Of all the people in the group, he’s got the best survival instincts. Don’t worry, Maddie. He’s all right.”

“Please don’t call me that,” Madison curtly whispered.

Confused, Maggie asked, “What? Maddie?”

“That was his nickname for me. Just...please. Daryl was the only one who called me that,” Madison weakly explained.

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, I just can’t believe I’ll never hear him call me that again,” Madison’s voice cracked and she grabbed on to Maggie’s outstretched hand. “I tried to tell him, Maggie. I tried, but I couldn’t, I couldn’t make myself say it. He died not knowing how I felt.”

“He knows,” Glenn assured her. “A guy always knows when a girl loves him. We’ll find him, somehow we’ll find him. I promise.” Madison smiled at him, touched by his feeble attempt at comforting her.

Daryl and Carol joined the highway a couple of miles away from where Sophia ran off. As they neared their destination Daryl began to both dread and look forward to finding out if his hunch was correct and, if so, which of the group members were gathering there. The roar of an engine caught his attention and he looked over his shoulder and saw the blue pickup truck from the farm about a mile behind him. “I’ll be damned, someone made it out alive,” he mumbled to himself. Seconds later the sea foam Hyundai skidded onto the highway between Daryl and the pickup. Against his better judgment, he dared to hope that Madison was in one of the vehicles behind him and kept looking over his shoulder trying to see if he could spot her red hair in either car, making him swerve all over the road as he drove.

“Look!” Maggie exclaimed as Glenn pulled onto the highway. “Madison, look. Isn’t that Daryl’s bike?” she questioned, hitting Madison’s leg to get her to look up.

Madison jumped from the back seat and practically climbed into the front of the car to get a better look, for an instant believing that she’d been wrong and he was all right. The motorcycle was too far ahead of them to get a decent look at the driver, but one look at the erratic driving and she knew it wasn’t Daryl, he was a far better and more controlled driver than that, even in the worst possible conditions; she’d witnessed that firsthand. Madison sunk back into her seat in despair. “That’s his motorcycle, but that’s not him driving. He would never leave that bike behind or let anyone else drive it, unless something...happened…to him…” she spoke slowly as her brain processed what her mouth was saying. “Oh please no!” she sobbed.

The motorcycle turned into the median and crossed the highway and Glenn followed. “I...I think there’s two people on the bike,” he mumbled.

“There are?” Madison quietly asked.

Daryl wound his way through the abandoned cars on the road before coming to a stop, pleased to see Rick, Carl, and Hershel making their way towards him and Carol; more people made it off the farm than he thought. Carol got off the motorcycle quickly and greeted Hershel and Carl while Rick greeted Daryl with a warm handshake. Daryl couldn’t take it anymore, he had to know about Madison; preparing for the worst, he hesitantly asked Rick, “Maddie? Did ya see ‘er? She ‘lright?”

Rick chuckled and gestured behind Daryl with his head, “Why don’t you ask her yourself?” He slapped Daryl on the back then rushed forward to greet Lori who was the first out of the blue pickup.

Daryl turned around to see what Rick was talking about, unwilling to believe what he said, but sure enough, there was Madison getting out of the Hyundai. Stunned, it was all Daryl could do to stand up and get off his motorcycle; she was alive, his Maddie was safe. He couldn’t stop smiling as he watched her close the car door and run a weary hand through her hair, she hadn’t seen him yet and he felt like she was avoiding seeing who had made it and who hadn’t. “Maddie!” he called to her, unable to hold back.

Madison froze, certain her mind was playing tricks on her. Tentatively, she turned around and her jaw dropped, her hands flew to her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes; she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She blinked several times trying to clear the hallucination before her eyes, but there he was in front of her; Daryl Dixon, alive and well and smiling at her. She sprinted towards him and threw herself into his arms, the force knocking him slightly off balance. He recovered quickly and held her tightly, lifting her off of the ground as he hugged her; the pure joy he felt spilling out of him in low, quiet laughter. She was laughing and crying too much to speak, only finding her voice when Daryl set her back down. She looked up at him and, with a hand on either side of his neck, her fingertips softly running through the hair at the nape of his neck, gently shook him, her voice still trembling as she spoke, “You had me scared to death, Dixon! I thought you were dead.” She squeezed her eyes shut as more tears came and looked down, embarrassed, as she tried to compose herself; she’d cried in front of this man far too often in the short time she’d known him.

He tenderly wiped a few stray tears away and cupped her cheek, tilting her head back so he could look at her as he spoke in a gravelly voice, “Hey, gonna take a lot more than a coupla walkers t’get ridda me." She smiled softly, closed her eyes again, and leaned her face into his hand, holding on to his wrist rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. He pulled her face closer to his, making her eyes flutter open and meet his gaze. His eyes were ablaze like she’d seen only once before and her heart started pounding in anticipation of what was to come. A soft sigh escaped her lips and Daryl smirked, encouraged by her reaction, and drew her closer. Someone cleared their throat nearby, a woman, probably Carol, Madison guessed based off the proximity; Daryl’s eyes darted from Madison’s to the surrounding group and he lost his nerve again after seeing so many eyes trained on them. Uncomfortable with his feelings on display for everyone to see, he tilted her head down and quickly pressed a kiss to her forehead instead of his original target. He then put his arm around her and pulled her next to him and she rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around him as well. She understood how private he was about matters of the heart and couldn’t be mad at him, but she couldn’t deny how desperately she wanted to kiss him or how disappointed she was to be interrupted again.

“Where’d you find everyone?” Rick asked Daryl, refocusing the group on something besides Daryl’s seemingly uncharacteristic display of affection.

Grateful, Daryl quickly answered Rick, “Well, those guys were zigzaggin’ all over the road, figured ‘e hadda be Asian drivin’ like that.” Daryl smirked at his own joke and shifted his weight from one leg to the other, still uncomfortable with his new prominence in the group.

“Good one,” Glenn chuckled before adding, “But we weren’t the ones zigzagging, that was you.”

Madison looked up at Daryl, “Yeah, what was that? I’ve never seen you drive like that before. I thought for sure someone else was on your bike.”

“Don’t matter, ain’t important,” Daryl mumbled. He released her and crossed his arms, signaling he was through with the conversation. Madison nodded and shoved her hands in her pockets.

“He was trying to see who was in the cars behind us, nearly killed us looking for you,” Carol blurted out, glaring at Madison. Madison held back any sort of reaction, not wanting to make the moment worse for Daryl. She did, however, cast a quick sidelong glance at him and saw him look down, staring intently at the ground; she also thought she could see a little flush of color in his cheeks, was he blushing?

Before anything else could be said on the matter, Daryl looked to Rick and asked, “Where’s the rest of us?”

“We’re the only ones who made it so far,” Rick solemnly replied.

“Shane?” Lori asked, Rick answered with a shake of his head.

“Andrea?” Glenn questioned the group.

Carol quietly responded, looking at Daryl as she spoke, which made Madison irrationally upset, “She saved me, then I lost her.”

“No, not Andrea,” Madison gasped. She and Andrea hadn’t been close, but they had bonded as they helped each other deal with the loss of their sisters. “Carol, are you sure?”

“We saw her go down,” T-Dog recounted, leaning heavily on the open door of the pickup.

Madison hung her head and her shoulders slumped at the news. Daryl nudged her arm and when she looked up at him mouthed “Ya okay?” She gave him a sad smile and whispered, “I will be.”

Although he feared he already knew the answer, Hershel asked, “Patricia?”

Beth shook her head, “They got her too, took her right in front of me. I was…” the young girl’s voice cracked and she started crying, “I was holdin’ onto her, Daddy. She just…” She couldn’t finish and Hershel held her close, trying to comfort his child. Beth looked to Maggie, “What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?”

“He was in the RV. It got overrun,” Rick told her.

“You definitely saw Andrea?” Carol asked T.

Lori answered, “There were walkers everywhere.”

“Did you see her?” Carol asked again.

“I’m gonna go back,” Daryl announced, stepping up to his motorcycle and getting ready to leave.

Madison wanted to stop him, but knew her protests would fall on deaf ears. There was so much she wanted to say to him, but all she could manage was, “Bring her back safe.”

Daryl looked over his shoulder at her, confused, “Y’ain’t comin’?” Surprised, she nodded and stepped up to his bike.

“No,” Rick said quietly but firmly.

“We can’t just leave ‘er,” Daryl argued.

“We don’t even know if she’s there,” Lori interjected.

Rick put his foot down. “She isn’t there. She isn’t. She’s somewhere else or she’s dead. There’s no way to find her.”

“So we’re not even gonna look for her?” Glenn asked in disbelief.

Rick shook his head and sighed, “We gotta keep movin’. There have been walkers crawlin’ all over here.”

“I say head east,” T-Dog suggested.

Daryl was frustrated that they weren’t going to look for Andrea, but he knew Rick was right and backed him up. “Stay off the main roads,” he ordered. A walker was limping its way to the group and Madison was the first to notice. She pulled her knife from its sheath and walked around the motorcycle to take care of it. Daryl noticed her moving and continued talking as he grabbed his crossbow from the back of Merle’s bike and walked behind her, “The bigger the road, the more walkers, more assholes like this one.” He spoke to Madison instead of the group, “I got ‘im.” He pulled the trigger, shooting a bolt into the walker’s eye and it fell to the ground.

Behind her, Madison could hear Rick as he organized the group so they could leave as soon as possible. Irritated, she shoved her knife back in its sheath and strode up to Daryl as he yanked the bolt from the walker’s head and wiped it off on its shirt. “What was that? I had it.”

“Ne’er said ya didn’t."

She folder her arms and glared at him as he stood up and looked at her; everyone had been treating her with kid gloves since last night and she'd had enough, “Then why didn’t you let me take care of it?”

Daryl sighed; even when he tried to do right by her, he still got it wrong. “Jus’ ‘cause ya can, don’t mean ya gotta. I wan’cha safe; so like it or not, gonna be lookin’ out fer ya. Get used to it.” He shouldered his crossbow and held his hand out to her. She took his outstretched hand and he mumbled under his breath, loud enough for Madison to hear, “Damn Ball Buster.” He smirked at her as she pretended to get offended and playfully punched his arm with her free hand; feigning injury, he led her the few feet back to the group.

While Daryl and Madison had been away from the others, Rick had decided it was best to ditch the pickup truck and fit everyone in Hershel’s SUV, the Hyundai, and on Daryl's motorcycle. Daryl agreed; it was much safer to keep the group as close together as possible. As soon as everyone reached an agreement on which direction to travel, the group split and got in the cars. Madison followed Daryl over to his motorcycle and he handed her his bow as he straddled the bike, “Strap this on the back, will ya?”

Madison cautiously reached for the crossbow, grunting when she took it, surprised by its weight. “You’re trusting me with this? I’m honored,” she teased as she fought to strap it into place.

Daryl rolled his eyes at her struggle and started the engine, “Yeah, an’ yer makin’ wonder why.” Madison looked up from the stubborn crossbow and glared at him which only made him chuckle, "Quit dawdlin' an' get on." She complied with a victorious smile after finally getting the bow to stay put, but before they could go anywhere Carol walked over to them.

Madison forced a smile, “Need something, Carol?” Since winced internally, her question came out much harsher than she meant it.

“Brrr, damn it’s cold back there,” Daryl whispered, making Madison genuinely smile.

Carol cleared her throat before speaking and confirmed Madison’s suspicions; she was the one who stopped Daryl from kissing her and by the way Daryl’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Carol, Madison knew he’d reached the same conclusion. “Rick said he wants everyone to stay with the vehicle they came in; except for the people from the pickup, of course, they’re getting split between the two cars. He thinks it will make it easier to keep track of everyone this way.”

“Rick really say that?” Daryl asked, trying to suppress the suspicion in his voice.

Carol nodded firmly, “Yes he did. You two missed quite a bit while you were off,” she paused trying to come up with the right word and then, once she found the word she was looking for, spitting it out like it was venomous, “reuniting.”

Madison scoffed and folded her arms, “If you call arguing over killing walkers reuniting.” She looked at Carol and could tell she was serious and wasn’t going to back down; with an exasperated sigh Madison rested her forehead on Daryl’s back, “All right. Fine. If that’s how Rick wants it, I’ll get back in the car.”

“See ya at the next stop, Buster,” Daryl assured Madison, reaching behind him and patting her leg before she got off.

Using his shoulders to steady herself, Madison threw her leg over the bike, “Sounds like a plan.” She turned to Carol. “The seat’s all yours,” she stated, emphasizing that her spot on the motorcycle was all she was giving up. Her distinction went right over Carol’s head, just like she knew it would, but she felt better having said it and she meandered back to the Hyundai.

When Madison reached the car she noticed Glenn was a ways away talking with Rick and Hershel was standing guard next to the car with his gun, protecting his girls. She waved to him as she climbed in the back seat, startling Beth and Maggie. “Didn’t expect to see you back here, why aren’t you riding with Daryl?” Maggie asked as Madison shut the door.

“Apparently we missed Rick telling everyone to stay with the car you came in, so I’m back,” Madison sighed. She looked at Maggie’s confused face, “What? Don’t tell me, he didn’t really say that, did he?”

“Sorry Madison,” Beth whispered.

“I can’t believe I fell for it, Carol lied to spend more time alone with Daryl,” she chuckled darkly, “Wow. I feel like such an idiot.”

Maggie snorted, “Let her. If she needs to lie to spend time with him, I feel bad for her. Not like it’ll do her much good anyway; he loves you, Madison. You’ve got nothin’ to worry about.”

Beth’s ears perked up, “He told you he loves you?”

Madison gave her a halfhearted smile; typical teenager, her world was crashing down around her, but she still wanted to hear the latest gossip. She leaned her head back and sighed, “Yeah, yelled it at me really,” she smiled sadly. “But my fiancé said he loved me too and he had a string of one night stands and girlfriends while we were engaged...”

“Don’t think like that!” Maggie snapped, startling Madison and making her sit straight up. “You can’t distrust Daryl because of things your ex did. It would destroy him to hear you talkin’ like this; he’s not your ex, you can trust him.”

“I know, you’re right,” Maddison softly muttered, pushing her hair away from her face. Madison trusted Daryl with her life, literally, but when it came to trusting him with her heart she just couldn’t allow herself to let go completely. It wasn’t anything he’d done, he had been more loyal and caring than Charles had ever been; but every time she was about to hand Daryl her heart, old fears and insecurities would bubble up and make her second guess him. She needed to get them under control, needed to separate Charles and Daryl once and for all before she lost Daryl.

Glenn soon returned and Hershel got in the car and the caravan of survivors, led by Daryl, began their journey to a destination unknown. Hours passed and Beth fell asleep on Madison’s shoulder. Madison yawned, fighting to stay awake. After several consecutive yawns Hershel turned around and smiled kindly at her, “Go ahead and sleep. Nothin’ you can do right now, might as well get some rest.” She nodded to him and closed her eyes, overwhelmed with the events of the past forty-eight hours, and quickly fell asleep.

A car horn jarred both Madison and Beth awake as the car came to a stop. “Is everything okay?” Madison asked, rubbing her eyes and trying to focus.

“I think so, Rick’s just trying to get our attention,” Glenn responded, hopping out of the car followed by the rest of the passengers.

Madison immediately made her way over to Daryl, rolling her neck from side to side, trying to work out a kink from falling asleep in the car. “Ya out?” she heard Daryl ask; confused she glanced behind her and nearly got run over by Rick as he raced to the front of the caravan to talk to Daryl.

“Runnin’ on fumes,” Rick answered and the light went on in Madison’s brain; Rick must be out of gas, that’s why he was honking. She shook her head at herself; she was really out of it, it should not have taken her that long to piece the situation together. Carol was standing behind the motorcycle near the back and the thought of standing next to Carol and making small talk did not appeal to Madison so she crossed around to the front of Daryl’s bike and stood by the handle bars. She smiled shyly at Daryl as she joined him and he greeted her with a sharp nod before turning his attention back to Rick.

“We can’t stay here,” Maggie blurted, the fear in her voice obvious.

“We can’t all fit in one car,” Glenn countered.

“We’ll have to make a run for some gas in the morning,” Rick stated, taking control of the situation before panic set in. Daryl killed the engine then swung his leg over the bike and took his place next to Madison.

“Spend the night here?” Carol questioned

Carl’s small voice chimed in, “I’m freezing.”

Lori wrapped an arm around him, “We’ll build a fire, yeah?” Rick turned around and quickly gave his jacket to his son.

“Ya go out lookin’ fer firewood, stay close,” Daryl cautioned the group, “Only got so many arrows. How ya doin’ on ammo?”

“Not enough,” Rick replied flatly.

Maggie spoke up, “We can’t just sit here with our asses hangin’ out.”

“Watch your mouth,” Hershel scolded, eliciting an eye roll from Maggie. “Everyone stop panickin' and listen to Rick.”

Movement up the road caught Daryl’s attention and he grabbed his bow from the back of the bike then took a few steps forward to figure out what he saw, making Madison nervous. She looked to the former sheriff, “Rick, we need a plan. Everyone’s exhausted and scared, what do we do?” She cast a curious look at Daryl as he stood by her again and anxiously whispered, “What did you see?”

He shook his head, “Dunno. Musta been a leaf fallin’ or a bird; woulda seen a walker by now.” He looked to Rick, “Gonna get dark soon, if we’re stayin’ we gotta find a place an’ if we ain’t we needa get a move on. Whatever we do, ain’t got time t'stand ‘round debatin’.”

Rick nodded, agreeing with Daryl, then turned to the group and announced, “All right, we’ll set up a perimeter. In the mornin’ we’ll find some gas and some supplies. We’ll keep pushin’ on.”

“Glenn and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas,” Maggie suggested, anxious to get things underway.

“No, we stay together,” Rick insisted, “God forbid somethin’ happens and people get stranded without a car.”

Glenn took a few steps forward, “Rick, we’re stranded now.”

“But at least if something happened, if another herd came through, we could get in the cars and have a little bit of protection,” Madison interjected, “If you and Maggie take the car, we’d be out of luck.”

“I know it looks bad,” Rick admitted, weary from everyone second guessing him, “We’ve all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other.” Madison felt a pair of eyes on her and she glanced behind her; Daryl had moved and positioned himself between her and the forest, protecting her from an unseen threat, and was staring intently at her. “I wasn’t sure, I really wasn’t, but we did. We’re together. We keep it that way. We’ll find shelter somewhere. There’s gotta be a place.”

No one spoke immediately as they took in Rick’s impassioned speech, Glenn broke the silence, “Rick, look around. Okay? There’s walkers everywhere, they’re migrating or something.”

Rick cut him off, “There’s gotta be a place; not just where we hole up, but that we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, build a life for each other. I know it’s out there, we just have to find it.” Rick was getting worked up as he spoke making Madison unsure if he really believed such a place existed or if he was trying to convince himself as well as the group that their situation wasn’t as hopeless as it seemed.

“Even if we do find a place and we think it’s safe, we can never be sure for how long,” Maggie pointed out to Rick, trying to make him see reason. “Look was happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinkin' that that was safe.”

Hershel stood up for Rick and his vision, “We won’t make that mistake again.”

Grateful for Hershel’s support Rick continued, gesturing to the crumbling remains of an old mill off to the side of the road, “We’ll make camp tonight over there, get on the road at the break of day.”

“Does this feel right to you?” Carol asked Daryl, ignoring Madison; he didn’t say anything to her and only replied with a nod.

Beth rushed up to Rick in a near panic and asked, “What if walkers come through? Or another group like Randall’s?”

Hearing Randall’s name brought Daryl’s attention back to Rick; realizing that Rick was still unaware of the kid’s fate, he spoke up, “Ya know I found Randall, right? ‘e’d turned, but ‘e wasn’t bit.”

“You said his neck was broken, right?” Madison clarified, looking at Daryl. Rick’s face fell as if he’d just received horrible news.

“How’s that possible?” Beth asked.

“Rick, what the hell happened?” Lori pleaded for information from her husband.

Daryl proposed his theory, “Shane killed Randall. Jus’ like 'e always wanted t’.”

The group stood silent for a moment, stunned by Daryl’s suggestion, but knowing deep down that he was right. Lori broke the silence, “And then the herd got him?”

Rick took a long time to answer, choosing his words carefully, knowing that what he was about to reveal to the group would be devastating. “We’re all infected,” he confessed.

Madison reached forward and steadied herself on Daryl’s bike, afraid her legs were going to give out on her. Daryl placed his hand on her shoulder and narrowed his eyes at Rick. “What?” he growled, furious that Rick had kept him in the dark over something so crucial.

“You can’t be serious, what makes you think that? Where did you hear this?” Madison threw questions at Rick.

Rick stayed composed as he explained, “At the C.D.C, Jenner told me.”

Madison interrupted him, “Who's Jenner and why would he know?”

“'e was some whack job tryin’ t'find a cure fer this thing, 'e gave up on findin’ a cure, on life; ‘opted out’ 'e called it. Nearly took us all down with ‘im,” Daryl answered her. She looked at him with a confused expression; his explanation left her with more questions than answers, but she’d have to ask him the rest later, they weren’t important right now.

“Whatever it is, we all carry it,” Rick finished.

Daryl started pacing, his anger and frustration needing to be released somehow; why didn’t Rick say something sooner? He felt powerless and he hated it. It was one thing to keep fighting when he thought only the walkers carried it and as long as you didn’t get bit you’d be all right, but to find out everyone was infected? What was the point? His mind immediately shifted to Madison, keeping her safe was his number one concern; how could he protect her from something that already had gotten to her? He couldn’t and that only fueled his anger.

“And you never said anything?” Carol questioned Rick.

“Would it have made a difference?” Rick countered.

“You knew this whole time?” Glenn accused.

Rick started to get agitated; feeling like his back was against the wall, “How could I have known for sure? You saw how crazy that man…”

“That isn’t your call!” Glenn interrupted, “Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told, for the good of everyone.”

“Well, I thought it best that people didn’t know,” Rick defended himself then strode away from the group before more accusations could start flying.

Daryl shook his head after him, shaking with rage at Rick’s betrayal. He could see Rick’s point, what did it matter if they knew or not, it didn’t change anything, but that did nothing to calm his temper. He roughly threw his bow over his shoulder and stormed off for the woods. “Gonna look fer firewood,” he threw over his shoulder. Madison took a step to follow him and stopped herself, choosing to give him time to cool down before trying to talk to him. A sharp whistle like someone calling their dog rang through the trees; Madison looked around for the source and found Daryl standing at the tree line staring at her impatiently. “Madison, get yer ass over here! Ain’t got all damn day!” he gruffly shouted at her.

She stared at him in disbelief, her blood boiling. She marched over to him, not because he called her, but because she was going to give him a piece of her mind. He started walking into the trees when he saw her coming and she had to jog to catch up to him. “I’m not your dog, Daryl. I don’t come when you whistle!” she shouted back at him, still trying to reach him.

Daryl rolled his eyes and pressed forward, “Sure ya don’t.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Yer here, ain’t ya?” he sneered, pausing and turning around to face her.

Frustrated past the point of being able to form a coherent sentence, Madison threw her arms up and gestured to herself, “Clearly.”

Daryl looked at her and snarled, “Didn’t ask fer yer attitude, jus’ go back with the rest. I was wrong, don’t want ya after all.” He turned away from her, his right hand holding onto the strap of his crossbow, and continued walking, cursing himself for taking his frustrations with Rick out on her.

Madison groaned, “Argh! You always do this, you know? Stop it!”

Daryl abruptly stopped and advanced on her, causing her to tense and take a step back. He glared at her and asked in a low growl, “Stop what? I ain’t doin’ shit!”

Finding her nerve again, she retorted, “Stop trying to push me away! You do this, whenever you’re scared or angry, when you’re hurt in some way; your temper flares up and you try to push me away. It’s not going to work, okay? You’re stuck with me for the long haul. Get it through your head; I’m not leaving, so stop trying to make me.” Once again, her insecurities bubbled to the surface and another explanation for his behavior struck her as his words ‘don’t want ya after all’ ran through her mind, “Or if you want me gone, just be a man and tell me straight out that you’re done with me, because if that’s what this is about, then please just tell m-”

Fueled by an uncontrollable desire to make Madison understand what she meant to him, Daryl closed the distance between them and grabbed her face with his free hand, tilting her head back, and crashed his lips against hers. Startled, Madison wasn’t sure how to react at first, but quickly got lost in the sensation of his rough lips on hers and closed her eyes. Gently, she raised her fingers to his face and then her right hand found its way into his hair. Daryl let go of the strap to his crossbow and placed his right hand on her waist, pulling her closer. The kiss was eager, desperate, like a starving man at a feast trying to have his fill before it was too late; it was everything Madison had imagined it would be.

Daryl, begrudgingly, broke the kiss, his blue eyes shining with pure adoration as he gazed into her eyes. Madison’s heart pounded as he tenderly traced her bottom lip with his thumb, sending shivers down her spine. His raspy, low voice took her breath away as much as the kiss had, as he whispered to her, “Maddie, I said I love ya, now get it through yer head; I ain’t done.” He leaned down and softly pressed another kiss to her lips. Madison let out a contented hum after the second kiss and Daryl smirked, taking the sound for the compliment it was. He took her hand is his and they began to look for suitable firewood and small game to bring back to camp.

Several minutes passed by in comfortable silence and Madison came to a conclusion; now was the perfect opportunity, she had to tell Daryl how she felt before the moment was gone. “Daryl?” she quietly asked for his attention.

“Hmmm?” he replied halfheartedly, most of his attention focused on keeping an eye out for danger.

Madison took a deep breath, “That thing I wanted to say last night...before the herd?”

“Yeah?” he asked as he cast a sidelong glance at her.

She looked to the ground, suddenly nervous; she didn’t understand, she knew he felt the same way about her, against all odds, so why was it so hard for her to tell him how much she cared for him? “You know I love you too, right?” she whispered, only risking a quick glance at him once the words left her mouth.

A relieved half smile spread across his face as he looked at her and squeezed her hand, “I do now.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but here is a bright, new, shiny update for everyone! Please enjoy and remember, I do not own TWD, just Madison.

The sun was sitting low in the sky by the time Daryl and Madison returned to camp, both of their arms heavy with firewood and Daryl with a few squirrels tied to his belt. “I think I see them,” Hershel called out, alerting the others.

Carol jumped up and ran towards them, taking the firewood from Daryl, not even glancing in Madison’s direction, “Thank God you’re okay; we were so worried.”

“Glenn and I were about to come lookin’ for you, what took you two so long?” Maggie asked as Daryl took the firewood from Madison’s arms now that his were empty. They exchanged a meaningful look, both fighting to hold back a smile, having agreed earlier to keep their kiss their secret for the time being.

“We, uh...lost track of time, I guess,” Madison answered lamely, still looking at Daryl; their exchange not going unnoticed by Maggie and Carol.

Subtlety wasn’t Madison’s strong suit Daryl realized, rolling his eyes as he carried the firewood to the center of the makeshift camp and dropped it to the ground. “Huntin’. Figured none ya’ve eaten since yesterday so we found what we could,” he announced, trying to save face after Madison’s less than helpful answer, as he untied the squirrels from his belt and tossed them next to the firewood. “Where’s Rick?”

“He’s on watch with T,” Lori answered as she and Carol went to work preparing the dinner Daryl had brought them.

Daryl sauntered off to find Rick, shaking his head at Madison as he passed her, a bemused expression on his face. “Sorry,” she whispered to him then turned to start the fire, ignoring the questioning looks from Maggie and Carol.

Not long after dinner darkness fell on the small group of survivors and with it a heightened level of anxiety causing everyone’s imagination to run away with them, making them jump at every little noise. The group huddled around the small campfire for warmth and the comfort of being near their only light source. Daryl knelt next to the fire as he broke apart a few branches to add to the flames, glancing to his left to check on Madison. No one had spoken in what felt like hours, the threat of the nearby herd and the knowledge that they were all infected with this disease weighing heavily on everyone’s minds. Carol whispered to Daryl as he tended to the fire, her voice carrying through the stillness, “We’re not safe with him; keeping something like that from us. Why do you need him? He’s just gonna pull you down.”

“Nah, Rick’s done ‘lright by me,” Daryl responded, defending the man he was beginning to consider his friend, the anger he felt toward Rick gone after their talk earlier.

“You’re his henchman,” Carol countered.

“Daryl’s not Rick’s henchman,” Madison interjected, staring into the fire; although she didn’t look up, she could feel Carol’s eyes on her.

“You’re a stray, Madison,” Carol shot back, looking back to Daryl as she continued, “And I’m a burden. You deserve better.” Madison prickled at Carol’s words. On the surface Carol was saying that Daryl deserved better than to be, in her words, Rick’s henchman, but Madison felt there was another layer to what she said, insinuating that Daryl deserved better than a “stray”.

Daryl looked at Madison and saw the hurt in her eyes. He turned back to Carol, eyes narrowed, and asked, “What d’ya want?”

“A man of honor,” she answered simply.

“Rick has honor,” he spat, tossing one last sick into the fire before sitting back down and pulling Madison close to him and whispering in her ear, “An’ y’ain’t no stray.”

“Thank you,” Madison mumbled.

Maggie listened to the exchange between Daryl and Carol and turned to Glenn, unconvinced by Daryl’s defense of Rick, “I think we should take our chances.”

“Don’t be foolish,” Hershel told her, “There’s no food, no fuel, no ammo.”

Some leaves rustled beyond the walls of the mill and everyone fell silent for a moment. “What was that?” Beth asked quietly.

Daryl jumped to his feet and unshouldered his crossbow, keeping Madison behind him, “Could be anythin’. Could be a raccoon, could be a possum.” Everyone except Lori and Carl rose to their feet, preparing to either run or fight; Madison prepared for the latter and drew her knife.

“Walker,” Glenn added.

Carol was starting to panic, her voice shaking slightly as she spoke, “We need to leave. I mean, what are we waiting for?”

Madison looked from person to person and saw the fear in everyone’s eyes. “What we need is for everyone to calm down,” she hissed, “We need to use our heads and not let fear take over. If a walker was that close, we’d hear the growls and more shuffling. We’re fine, we're safe; just keep it together.” Daryl didn’t take his eyes away from the direction the sound came from, but he was proud of Madison for being a voice of reason and keeping a level head in the face of danger.

“Which way?” Glenn asked, ignoring Madison.

“It came from over there,” Maggie replied.

“Back from where we came?” Beth asked.

“Yeah.”

Rick stepped from the shadows, seeming to appear out of nowhere, and spoke to the group for the first time since telling them what Jenner said at the CDC, “The last thing we need is for everyone to be runnin’ off in the dark. We don’t have the vehicles. No one’s travelin' on foot.”

A branch snapped and everyone tensed. A small gasp escaped Madison’s lips and she adjusted her grip on her knife, ready for whatever came next. “Don’t panic,” Hershel told the group.

“I’m not,” Maggie argued, “I’m not sittin’ here, waitin’ for another herd to blow through. We need to move. Now.”

“No one is goin' anywhere,” Rick firmly stated.

Carol glared at him, “Do something.”

“I am doin' somethin'!” Rick snapped, gesturing with his gun, “I’m keepin' this group together, alive. I’ve been doin' that all along, no matter what. I didn’t ask for this! I killed my best friend for you people!”

A hush fell over the group as Rick’s second confession of the night stunned everyone. Madison shook her head, not believing what she was hearing, then looked to Daryl who looked surprisingly calm as Rick explained further. “You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice! He was my friend, but he came after me.” Rick paused and took in the faces of the group members, seeing the fear and disgust in their expressions, “My hands are clean!”

Carl was crying into his mother’s shoulder as she tried to calm him, tears of her own welling in her eyes. Madison looked at Rick, he was different now and for the first time she was afraid of him. He sighed, “Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there’s a place for us, but maybe-maybe it’s just another pipe dream. Maybe, maybe I’m foolin’ myself again. Why don’t you-why don’t you go and find out yourself?” The anger in Rick’s voice rose as he spoke, almost taunting the group, “Send me a postcard! Go on, there’s the door. You can do better? Let’s see how far you get." Rick paused, challenging anyone foolish enough to stand up to him. He finally continued, "No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight; you’re stayin’, this isn’t a democracy anymore.” Rick stormed out of the mill, leaving the group in shock as they tried to process what had just happened, the rustling leaves and snapping branches forgotten.

Madison broke away from the group, sneaking off to a corner to have a moment to herself to breath and to think. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her old phone then sank to the ground, fiddling with it as she replayed the past five minutes in her mind. It wasn’t that Rick had killed Shane that was bothering her; it sounded like it was cut and dry self-defense, but she’d never watched a man’s entire being change so quickly and that’s what scared her. She felt as though she’d just watched the Rick she’d known die in front of her and be reincarnated as some cold, unfeeling tyrant. The sound of approaching footsteps pulled her from her thoughts. She looked up as Daryl took a seat next to her, setting his bow down against the wall on his left side and groaning as he made himself comfortable, stretching his legs out in front of him.

Daryl watched Madison closely as the half-hearted smile she greeted him with faded and a somber expression took its place. The dim, flickering light from the fire emphasized the dark circles under her eyes and the worry lines running deep in her forehead; she looked like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Wanting to help, but unsure of where to start, he cleared his throat before speaking. “How the hell’d that thing make it off the farm?” he asked, gesturing to her phone and easing into the conversation to find out what was going on inside her brain.

She chuckled and glanced at him, “I just always keep it in my pocket, you should know that by now.”

“Still think ya can get it workin’, huh?” he asked her, gently taking the phone from her and examining it closely.

“I hope so,” Madison sighed, “It was always a long shot, but it sounds really foolish now, doesn’t it?” She leaned on him as she spoke, resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arm through his.

With a shrug he handed the phone back to her, “No crazier than the first time, jus’ might take lil’ longer.” He reached out and placed his hand on her knee. “Maddie, what’s goin’ on?” he quietly asked her, “Ya only play with that damn thing when yer upset. If it’s 'bout what Carol said, don't listen…”

Madison shook her head against his shoulder; that had hurt, should couldn’t deny it, but she'd come to expect comments like that from Carol and was working on letting them roll off her back. “It’s not that,” she sighed.

“Rick?”

She nodded slightly, “I’ve never seen a man change so completely in such a short about of time.” She paused and took a breath before asking the question that had been plaguing her mind, “Do you still trust him?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Daryl nodded, “Yeah. 'e protected what's 'is. 'e woulda died if Shane hadn't; can't blame a man fer that." He glanced down at Madison as she chewed her bottom lip and digested his words. "Don'ya trus' 'im?"

Madison shrugged, "I really don't know anymore, but I trust you and if you say you still trust him that's good enough for me."

"Don't do that."

Confused, Madison sat up so she could see Daryl's face better, "Don't do what?"

Daryl gave her an incredulous look, "Start agreein' with me jus' 'cause we're in...uh, 'cause...jus' don't."

Madison couldn't help but laugh at him, "Now I want you to think about what you just said; this is me we're talking about. Do you really see that happening?"

He narrowed his eyes as he tried to read her. "Guess not," he finally admitted.

She chuckled quietly, "No guessing about it; don't forget you gave me that stupid Ball Buster nickname for a reason." She leaned back against the wall and her face fell as her mind returned to the events of the evening, "You were so...calm when Rick told everyone what he did; weren't you shocked?"

"Nah," Daryl replied, shaking his head, "Went an' talked t'im earlier an' asked 'im what really happened that night an' 'e came clean an' told me then. Rick had no choice; it was either gonna be 'im or Shane an' 'e chose 'im. Honestly Maddie, I'da done the same thing."

"You'd kill your best friend?"

"Hell yeah, if 'e's gonna kill me an' steal ya away," he firmly replied. Madison could feel a slight blush tint her cheeks, suddenly grateful for the cover of darkness. She knew she should've been appalled that Daryl was willing to kill for her, but she couldn't stop a tiny smile from pulling at the corner of her lips; this was his unconventional way of letting her know how much he cared for her.

Daryl mistook Madison's silence as abhorrence. Aggravated, he jumped to defend himself and Rick; he leaned in closer and pointed at her as he harshly whispered, "Rick didn't plan on killin' 'is best friend, 'e didn't want Shane t'die. Ain't like they got in a fist fight an' things got outta hand; Shane tried t'kill 'im b'fore. The other night, killin' Randall t'get t'Rick, it weren't some accident or a misunderstandin'; it was attempted murder!"

Madison tensed at Daryl's outburst, unsure of what set him off she spoke softly and hesitantly placed her hand on his forearm, "Daryl, calm down. I understand all that; it's not that he killed Shane bothers me. I get it, that's not the problem; it's that, well, he's not the same man he used to be. That's what's worrying me."

She hid it well, but Daryl saw the flash of fear in her eyes when he lashed out and the guilt he felt hit him like a punch to the gut. She covered it up so fast it was clear she'd had a lot of practice and he was reminded of the hell her ex must have put her through; he wanted to be different from that jerk so Madison would feel safe with him and he knew he had to start controlling his temper more. Exhaling deeply and softening his tone, Daryl replied, "Weren't ya the one tellin' me how killin' someone changes ya? 'e jus' hasta work through it, Rick's still in there."

"I hope you're right."

"Course I am, I always am," Daryl bragged with a smirk. Madison giggled quietly, much to his relief; he may be the ass the scared her a moment ago, but at least he had also been the one to put a smile on her face again. Slowly and gently he brushed her hair off her face, smiling to himself when he felt her relax at his touch. "Please try an' get some sleep Maddie," he pleaded in a gravelly voice, "Y'ain't slept good in days; I'm worried 'bout ya." He pressed a quick, tender kiss to her lips before closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall.

Madison smirked at him and lightly slapped his shoulder, "Now who's being indiscreet?"

"Shut up, will ya? I'm tryin' t'sleep," he teased, looking at her through one half opened eye with a lopsided grin on his face. Still smiling, Madison rested her head on Daryl's shoulder once again, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep bringing one of the worst and best days of her life to a close.

The following morning camp came alive at the first sign of the rising sun, everyone anxious to get moving again and find a safer location. “All right everyone, gather around; we need to go over the plan for the day,” Rick called to the group, gathering them in the center of their makeshift campsite. Daryl and Madison were the first to join him; everyone else taking their time, clearly still struggling with Rick’s declaration the previous night. “I know everyone is worried about stayin' here and is ready to get back on the road,” Rick began when the rest of the group joined them, “So am I; that’s why Daryl, T, Glenn, and myself are gonna go look for gas and hopefully some supplies. We won’t be gone long, so the rest of you just sit tight.”

“What do we do if another herd comes through? We won’t have any way of protectin’ ourselves,” Beth asked quietly, afraid of setting Rick off again after last night.

“I thought of that. I’m gonna leave Madison in charge while we’re gone. She's a good shot and will keep you safe,” Madison’s head snapped up at the mention of her name, shocked that Rick had that much faith in her.

Carol scoffed, “What? You’re serious? Her? Why not Hershel or Lori?” Madison bit her tongue and tried to ignore Carol’s withering glare.

“Fer one thing Maddie’s younger an’ faster than Hershel, no 'ffense ol’ timer,” Daryl growled, glaring at Carol.

"That's two things," Hershel corrected Daryl with a smile. Daryl turned to the older man with an amused expression and nodded; this old guy was all right after all.

“If she’s so quick on her feet then why don’t you take her with you and leave Daryl with us? At least then we’d have someone here who could protect the group. Madison’s track record for keeping others safe isn’t the best,” Carol told Rick.

Unable to stay silent with Carol hinting towards Ally’s death again, Madison shot back, “You’d love that wouldn’t you? And maybe, if you’re lucky, a walker will get me while we’re looking for gas and I’ll finally be out of your way!” She took a step towards Carol and Daryl quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back, not knowing what was going to happen, but stopping her from doing something she’d regret.

“Y’don’t know what the hell yer talkin’ ‘bout!” Daryl shouted; he could stop Madison from advancing on Carol, but he couldn’t stop his mouth from running away from him, “She’s saved my ass more times than I can count an’ she helped them two get off the farm. Stop definin’ ‘er by what happened t'er sister; it wasn't 'er fault!”

Rick stepped in, “All right now, that is enough! Turnin' on each other won’t solve anythin'. I need Daryl and the others with me. Madison is, usually, good under pressure and can keep everyone safe.” Rick glanced at Madison and gave her a reassuring nod. Carol opened her mouth to protest again and Rick held up his hand and cut her off, “It’s not up for discussion; like it or not, this is how it’s gonna be.”

Without another word Rick strode towards the Hyundai with T-Dog and Glenn close behind. Before joining them, Daryl turned and looked at Madison; her hands were on her hips and her head was down as she tried to get control of herself. He put his hand on her shoulder, and asked, concern easily heard in his voice, “Ya gonna be okay?”

She looked up at him and forced a smile, “Yeah, I have to be. A lot of people are counting on me.”

“That’s my Ball Buster. E’erythin’ll be fine, we’ll be back b‘fore ya know it. Ya’ll do great,” Daryl assured her, squeezing her shoulder before joining the other men.

After Rick and the others left a tense, awkward silence settled on the camp as everyone looked to Madison for direction. She looked around at the expectant faces watching her; what did they expect her to do? They just had to sit and wait for Rick to get back, it wasn’t hard; what were they waiting for? “Everyone get comfortable, it’ll be awhile before they get back so relax...or try to,” Madison addressed the group.

“Maybe you should assign someone to guard duty, but what do I know? I’m not in charge,” Carol asked in a sickeningly sweet tone.

With a dark chuckle Madison looked at Carol and folded her arms as she spoke, “You know, I’d ask if you wanted to be in charge since you clearly think you’d be better at it, but your track record for keeping people safe isn’t too stellar either, is it?”

“Obviously ability has nothing to do with who's put in charge.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Carol sneered at Madison, “It means that Rick’s giving you preferential treatment because you’re screwing his right hand man and it’s going to get us all killed.”

“You really think that little of me?” Madison asked quietly, taken aback by Carol’s accusation; Carol only shrugged in response. “I would never put everyone’s lives in jeopardy and take on responsibility I hadn’t earned or didn’t think I could handle. And to set the record straight, Daryl and I aren’t sleeping together; and even if we were I would never use him to get ahead like that. He means too much to me.” She turned to leave, taking a few steps away from the group before turning around and adding, “And I know you’ve lost a lot of respect for Rick in the past twenty-four hours, but give him some credit. He’d never risk our lives just to do a favor for a buddy. Everything he does is for the good of the group; remember that.”

Madison hung her head and slowly trudged away from the group. “Where’re you going?” Lori called after her.

“I’m going to patrol the perimeter,” Madison sighed. “You guys hang tight and stay on alert. I’ll let you know if I run into any problems.”

“So you’re leaving us alone here?” Carol asked, looking around nervously.

Madison threw her arms up, baffled that Carol could switch from calling her an incompetent whore to depending on her so quickly, and answered, “I don’t know what you want from me Carol, but yes, I am. I’m taking the dangerous job of wandering around outside these walls and leaving you safely inside them. I’m sorry if that’s not good enough for you, but it’s the best I have to offer.” She left before anyone else could question her so she could lick her wounds. She leaned against the wall and took a breath while she collected herself.

Reminding herself that there were six people relying on her to keep them safe, she pushed herself away from the wall and set out towards the tree line. It was easy enough to see that the area immediately surrounding the mill was walker free, but Madison wanted to cover as much ground as possible and find any walkers before they posed an immediate threat to the group, allowing them more time to get to safety if any walkers were in the area. She slowly made her way around the edge of the forest, looking as far back as the dense trees would allow. She’d lost all sense of time as she scanned the woods, focusing all of her attention to her search. A twig snapped behind her and she yanked her knife from its sheath and spun around, surprised to be face to face with Maggie. “You gave me a heart attack, what are you doing out here? Is everything okay back at camp?”

“Yeah, everythin's fine, I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just you’d been gone a long time and I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Maggie explained, giving her friend a sympathetic half smile.

Madison looked at the sun’s position in the sky and realized she’d easily been gone an hour, maybe even two, “I had no idea I’d been away this long, I was just trying to be thorough. Is Rick back?”

"Not yet."

Madison nodded, "And Carol?" She needed to know what Carol was up to, although she dreaded the answer; after today she had a newfound respect for Rick.

"She went off into a corner to sulk last I saw."

"Okay," Madison continued walking and looking into the trees and Maggie followed. "You don't have to stay out here; you can go back to your family."

Maggie shook her head, "Two sets of eyes are better than one." Madison gave Maggie a grateful smile then focused on the task at hand. "For what it's worth," Maggie offered, "I don't think anyone else thinks you're sleeping with Daryl to get in good with Rick. Either they haven't given it any thought or, like me and Beth, they know he hasn't even kissed you yet...right?"

"Nice try Maggie, but I'm not getting into this right now," she chuckled.

"You gotta give me somethin' after I watched you cry over him yesterday," Maggie whined.

"Maybe later," Madison teased, still laughing. She abruptly stopped and fell silent then held up her hand to tell Maggie to stop moving. She pointed off into the woods and to their left; about twelve feet away from them was a small group of five to seven walkers heading towards camp. Madison didn't take the time to count them, knowing that even though it was a small group; it still spelled trouble for them and the rest back at camp. "When I say, get ready to back up slowly and quietly and stay as low as you can!" she whispered barely loud enough for Maggie to hear her. Quickly, she crouched down and gathered a handful of rocks. She took a breath to steady herself and threw them as hard as she could into the trees behind the small herd. The walkers stopped and turned around, enticed by the sound of the falling rocks. Madison was pleased with herself when her plan worked so well, but knew it only bought them a short amount of time before the walkers caught whiff of the group again. "Okay, now! Go, go, go!" Madison whispered to Maggie and they silently backed away. When she felt they were far enough from the walkers that they wouldn't attract attention, Madison and Maggie stood up and ran back to camp to warn the others.

"We have a situation," Madison announced as she and Maggie burst into camp, "We found a small group of walkers in the forest. I distracted them but who knows how long we have before they make their way over here. Is Rick back with the gas yet?"

Lori shook her head and held Carl close to her, "How many were there?"

"I dunno, seven? Maybe eight?" Maggie answered.

"You don't know?" Lori asked, her eyes wide with fear.

Madison stepped forward, "No. We didn't waste time counting. It doesn't matter how many; it was too many given how low we are on ammo. We need to get in Hershel's SUV and take cover."

"Won't they break into the car?" Beth questioned, clinging to her father.

"That's not a lot, we could fight them," Carl suggested.

Hershel spoke up, "Madison bought us time, let's not waste it arguing. We could fight them, but it's better to save the ammo in case they can't find any on the run."

"Exactly," Madison agreed. "And we don't know how many there were, we only saw those few, there could be more; the noise from fighting will only draw more to us. If we hurry up and get in the car before they see us, chances are they'll just walk past us...where's Carol?" She asked when she realized she hadn't been second guessed or insulted since she got to camp.

"She went lookin' for you," Hershel answered.

"You didn't see her out there?" Lori asked.

Madison shook her head, "No, I didn't see anyone. Maggie, did you?"

"No."

"All right, I'm going to go look for her," protests from the group started flying, but Madison disregarded them, talking over everyone else, "Maggie, get everyone in the SUV and stay with them. Keep them quiet and keep the doors and windows closed to keep the smell in. Do not open the door unless you can see or hear who's outside." Maggie nodded and Madison turned to address the group, "Sit as low as you can in the seats or get on the floor if you can, don't let them see you in there."

Maggie guided the group towards the car; Madison watched for a split second to make sure no one was left behind and then raced back the way she came. Her eyes darted around wildly as she looked for signs of Carol or the walkers. Not seeing any she studied the ground, using what little bit of tracking she'd picked up from Daryl to try and determine which set of footprints could be Carol's. Madison reasoned that since neither she nor Maggie saw her, Carol must have wandered around the mill in the opposite direction and took off after her. "Carol? Carol!" she called as loudly as she dared and was answered only by silence.

Time was running out; she knew the walkers would follow the smell of the living eventually and she didn't want to be away from the group when they did, but she couldn’t go back without Carol. Desperation bred inspiration and she scaled the nearest wall of the mill in an attempt to get a better vantage point of the surrounding area. Looking down from her perch, Madison finally found Carol, sitting on a fallen tree near the edge of the woods, pouting. Relief washed over her as she scrambled back to the ground and sprinted towards Carol, encouraged that there were no signs of the nearby walkers. Yet. “Carol, there you are! Come on, we’ve got to go!” Madison panted when she reached Carol, grabbing her arm and yanking her to her feet.

“No, wait a second. I’ve been looking all over for you, we need to talk…” Carol argued.

Madison cut her off, “I know, and I promise we can talk later, but right now we need to go!”

“I came looking for you to apologize, but you never let me talk; just like that day by the barn. I tried to offer an olive branch and you blew me off and now you’re doing it again!”

“Carol now’s really not the time! There’s a group of walkers somewhere in the woods. The rest of us are in the SUV taking cover until Rick gets back and that’s where we need to be. You can talk or scream all you want once I get you safe, now come on!” Madison urged, turning towards the mill and heading for safety. A few seconds later she realized Carol wasn’t following her and turned around to see Carol frozen in fear. Madison resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Carol and walked back to her, kindly taking her hand, “It’s going to be okay, I won’t let anything happ…”

She lost her train of thought when a walker broke through the trees behind Carol. Madison grabbed her knife and threw it at the walker, hitting it right between the eyes and it fell to the ground instantly. She rushed over to the corpse and struggled to pull the knife from its skull. Finally yanking it free, she looked up and saw several more walkers making their way through the trees and coming towards them. She gasped and backed up, shoving Carol back, trying to put some distance between them and the oncoming walkers while she figured out what to do.

“We can out run them, why aren’t you moving?” Carol whimpered, fear getting the better of her.

Madison shook her head, “And lead them to the rest of the group? No, we...we need to take them out ourselves.” She looked at Carol, “Please tell me you have a gun or a knife, some kind of weapon? Anything?” Carol shook her head. Madison bent down and broke off a branch from the fallen tree Carol had been sitting on, “Here,” she said, handing the branch to Carol, “Remember to go for the brain, that’s the only way to kill them. Hey. You can do this, Carol,” she added when she saw the doubt in Carol’s eyes as she took the stick.

Another walker emerged from the trees and Madison waited for it to get closer before she plunged her knife into its skull behind the ear. Shortly after two more appeared; Madison took down the closest walker and shoved its body into the path of the second, making it fall to the ground so she could stomp on its head as another lurched towards her. She glanced behind her and saw Carol standing still, clutching the branch in her hands as she watched Madison fight. “Carol! Get to the car! Go, now!” she yelled over her shoulder; if Carol wasn’t going to be able to help, at least she could get to safety. “Carol!” Madison screamed again, bringing Carol to her senses and she dropped the branch and ran.

Tears blurred Carol’s vision as she ran away and straight into Rick who steadied her, “What’s goin’ on? Where the hell is everybody?”

“Thank God you’re back! There’s walkers in the woods, they just keep coming. Everyone else is taking shelter in the SUV. I don’t know how much longer she can hold them off,” Carol babbled in a panic.

“Who? Maddie?” Daryl asked, pushing Rick aside so he could look at Carol. She weakly nodded through her tears. “Where?” he demanded, quickly loading his crossbow. A gunshot rang out answering his question and he charged towards the sound.

Madison was exhausted. She’d already taken down five walkers by hand and more were coming at her. She knew using her gun was foolish, but she had no choice; she had to get the upper hand somehow. After shooting just one walker she immediately regretted her decision and prayed she hadn't attracted more to her. She backed further away as she tried to catch her breath, but had to push through when another walker closed in on her. With no time to switch to her knife, she flipped her gun in her hand and beat the walker with the butt. Something whizzed past her head and took down a walker she hadn’t even noticed approaching her. She looked and saw a familiar bolt sticking out of the walker’s head and laughed with relief knowing she was no longer alone. She tucked her gun back in her waistband and brandished her knife once again and lunged at a walker crawling over the mound of bodies in front of her as she heard another bolt hit its target.

Finally there was silence and Madison struggled to her feet, scanning the trees to make sure there really were no more walkers coming at her. She looked at the bodies littering the ground around her; she covered her mouth and started shaking as she realized what a miracle it was that she was alive. Daryl raced to her and spun her around to face him, holding onto her by the arms and shaking her, “What the hell were ya thinkin’ takin’ ‘em all on yerself?"

“I, I didn’t have a choice…” she stammered, straining to form a coherent thought as her mind reeled from the battle, “Walkers were coming and Carol was missing, I had to go after her and I needed Maggie to stay with the others and protect them back at the car. The others! Are they okay?” Daryl nodded as Madison continued rambling, “No one here can defend themselves without a gun, or at all! I thought I could get Carol back to the car before the walkers reached us, but she just froze so I told her to run and we both couldn’t run or that would’ve lead them to everyone else and they just...they just kept coming and...”

Daryl grabbed her face and forced her to focus on him, “Slow down, Maddie. Breathe, it's okay, it's over. Are ya hurt?” She shook her head, looking into his eyes and forcing herself to calm down and breathe before she passed out. He pulled her to him and hugged her tightly and sighed, “Quit tryin’ t’die on me.”

“I’ll do my best,” Madison chuckled, clinging desperately to Daryl. “But if you hadn’t shown up when you did…”

“Shhh, don’t go there,” he whispered, trying to keep his mind from thinking that way too; the thought of losing her making him physically ill. “It ain’t safe here, we gotta get outta here; c’mon,” he directed, taking her hand and leading her back to camp.

Those taking cover in the car were back outside now that Rick had returned. All conversation came to an abrupt end when Daryl and Madison came into view. Rick placed a hand on Madison’s shoulder as he spoke, “I knew I made the right call puttin’ you in charge. Glad to see you’re all right.”

Madison didn’t have time to respond to Rick before Carol came forward and hugged her, taking Madison completely by surprise. “Madison, I’m so sorry. I was awful to you and you still saved my life,” she cried, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Madison replied, unsure of what else to say. Carol let go of her and smiled before walking away, casting a quick glance at Daryl. Watching Carol slink away, it was obvious to Madison that her display of gratitude was simply damage control for when and if Daryl found out the accusations Carol had hurled at her earlier.

“Let’s get outta here before more walkers pay us a visit. Daryl, come take a look at this map with me,” Rick instructed, pulling Daryl away from Madison’s side.

Maggie caught Madison’s eye and nodded for Madison to follow her away from the group. “I had no idea they were that close or I never would’ve let you go after Carol alone,” Maggie apologized once they had some privacy.

Madison gave Maggie a reassuring smile, “Please don’t apologize; you have nothing to be sorry about. You were where I needed you to be, you were the best one to protect the rest of the group. We need to train everyone to fight without guns though, or just to defend themselves in general,” she sighed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Carol take down a walker, or Beth for that matter-no offense.”

“None taken, you’re absolutely right. I had no idea how vulnerable we were without the men; we can’t keep relyin’ on them for our safety.” While she and Madison were talking, Maggie noticed Daryl glancing at them from time to time as he discussed the map with Rick. “Why does he keep starin’?” she asked, gesturing towards Daryl.

Madison followed Maggie’s gaze and smiled when Daryl quickly looked away and tried to act casual when she caught him staring at them. She shrugged, “I think it’s because he saw me fighting off all those walkers by myself so now he’s in hyper-protective mode.”

“Hmm, I thought it was because of what happened between the two of you in the forest last night.”

Madison tried to play dumb, but she could feel her cheeks turning red, giving her away, “What do you mean?”

“Oh, c’mon; don’t give me that. The way you were lookin’ at each other and tryin’ not to smile, your flimsy excuse of what took you guys so long. Tell me he finally manned up and kissed you,” Maggie teased, enjoying making Madison squirm.

“I can neither confirm nor deny that something happened and now we know where we stand with each other,” Madison answered, trying to skirt around the issue and refusing to look at Maggie.

“So you told him?” Maggie guessed and Madison shrugged in response. “He kissed you?” Maggie gasped and again, Madison only answered with a shrug, trying to conceal a smile. “He wants it kept secret, right?” Maggie concluded.

Madison shrugged once more, “Like I said, I can neither confirm nor deny that you’re spot on about all of that.” She gave Maggie a cryptic smile and wandered off towards the group forming around Rick waiting for instructions.

Shaking her head, Maggie followed her, “Yeah Madison, you’re really the master of subtlety.”

Rick announced that they were going to continue going in the direction they were headed and then veer to the east towards a small town that hopefully hadn’t been picked over yet and would be a good place to gather some supplies. When everyone split up to get ready to leave, Daryl led Madison over to his motorcycle, determined not to let her out of his sight. As she got settled on the bike, he turned around and watched her through narrowed eyes. “What? You’re freaking me out, stop staring at me like that,” she begged him.

“Guess it’s safe t’say Maggie knows ‘bout us?” he accused, assuming that their secret was no longer their own.

“Is that why you were watching us?” Madison exclaimed. “She suspects after last night, but I didn’t tell her anything.” Daryl was still skeptical, but accepted her answer for the time being with a grunt. “Although to be fair, I think everyone knows something is going on; they just don’t know what exactly.”

Daryl revved the engine, bringing the conversation to a close; not ready to think about what the group did or didn’t know. He could barely admit to himself that he loved Madison, let alone take his emotions public; even though he knew how he acted around her spoke volumes. His need for secrecy didn’t make sense after he yelled how he felt about her in front of the whole group and he knew that; but the fact remained that he wasn’t ready and he hoped she was okay with that. Forcing his mind to switch gears, he looked behind him to make sure the other vehicles were ready to start moving. When he received the all clear sign from Rick in the SUV, Daryl started forward, leading the caravan down the deserted road.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up! My life has been so crazy lately with family members in the hospital and then I got sick; the cherry on top of the madness is that this chapter ended up being super long as well as having a slow start with the writing. Huzzah. But I want to thank everyone for sticking by me, please don’t give up on me! I haven’t abandoned you and I haven’t abandoned Daryl and Madison, I could never do that. I hope this update makes up for the delay and I’m going to try my best to get back to one update a week, but I’m going to be moving soon and a family member is going in for surgery again in a few weeks so who knows! I only own Madison; nothing else related to TWD is mine.

After several hours on the road, Daryl came to a stop in the middle of the only intersection in the town he and Rick found on the map. He looked around at the one truck stop and two gas stations that appeared to be the entirety of the town. “Dammit,” he mumbled under his breath as he angrily turned off the engine.

“What’s wrong?” Madison asked, hopping off the bike and looking around, trying to see what had Daryl so upset.

Daryl groaned as he quickly got off and pulled the map from the bag on the back of the motorcycle and studied it, “Use yer eyes, this ain’t no town. Rick was hopin’ we could hunker down here fer a few days an’ get our shit together. That ain’t happenin’; this place's lil’ better than a rest area.”

Quietly, Madison came around the motorcycle and stood behind Daryl so she could see the map too. She rested her chin on his shoulder and slipped her arms around him in an attempt to calm him down. “Well, maybe because it’s so small others have bypassed it and it hasn't been picked completely clean yet. And we could hole up in one of these convenience stores for a few days. I know it’s not what you had in mind, but it’s better than where we were this morning,” she softly replied, kissing his shoulder.

He relaxed slightly and placed his hand on hers, grateful once again for the calming effect she had on him. “Did we miss a turn?” he asked her with a baffled sigh, laying the map out on the seat. He went over the route again and again, worried he'd made a stupid mistake that could cost the group dearly by dragging them here. She let go and moved next to him to look at the map closer as he pointed out the path that brought them there.

“Are we in the right place?” Rick asked as he strode up to the two of them.

“As far as we can tell,” Madison replied, stepping aside so Rick could see the map.

Rick shook his head and looked back at the scared, confused group getting out of the cars and making their way towards them. “So what now?” he asked, “Do we...do we move on? Do we stay the night? This isn’t what we were expectin’; we can’t stay here like we discussed.”

Madison glanced at Daryl, asking with her eyes if she should tell Rick what she told him moments before and he answered with a nod. “I was just telling Daryl that I think this place might be so small it’s been overlooked and might still have some supplies for us. And it’s not the Ritz, but I don’t see why we can’t at least spend a night or two in one of these convenience stores.”

“There’s ‘nough abandoned cars ‘round we can get some extra gas if nothin’ else,” Daryl added, backing her up.

Rick nodded thoughtfully, “All right. It’s decided then.”

“What’s decided?” Lori asked, announcing that the rest of the group had joined them. Rick shot her an icy glare, but didn’t answer.

Glenn looked around, “This can’t be the right place. Where’s the town?”

“Believe me, we’ve been sayin’ that exact same thing; we’re in the right place, we were just wrong about the size,” Rick replied.

“Can’t believe this place was even on a map,” Maggie mumbled.

Carol did little to hide her frustration with the situation, “Clearly there’s nothing here for us, so what now? We blindly push on to the next town and just hope it’s better?”

Rick shook his head, “No, we’re gonna stay here at least the night, see if there’s any supplies left like Madison suggested.” Madison was proud that Rick took her suggestion to heart, but she wished he hadn’t given her credit publically after Carol’s allegation earlier. She glanced up and saw Carol staring daggers at her and quickly dropped her eyes to the ground and folded her arms, trying to make herself as small as possible. Certain she could feel every pair of eyes on her, but unwilling to look up and see if it was all in her mind, she took a few small steps away from Daryl, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear and doing her best to ignore Daryl’s confused expression.

Soon the group burst into action, fulfilling the assignments Rick had passed around and setting up a barricade of sorts in front of the convenience store with the cars facing out in the event that a quick getaway was needed. After the outside was secure, Rick instructed everyone to stay close and to stick together while he and Daryl cleared the store.

Nerves were high as the group waited for the all clear. Madison paced back and forth while she waited for Daryl's safe return. No one had seen a walker since they got there and while that was comforting to most, she feared it was the calm before the storm. She forced herself to stop moving and pull herself together, telling herself that everything would be fine and she was still just a little shaken after taking on all the walkers at the mill earlier. Needing to do something to keep her mind occupied, she took a deep breath and slowly made her way to Carol; there was so much animosity between them and Madison wanted to try to set things right so they could, at the very least, peacefully coexist.

Carol greeted Madison with a fake smile and Madison had to force herself to press on with her goal of mending fences instead of storming away with a huff. “Mind if we have a quick chat in private?” she whispered to Carol, slightly afraid of her response.

“I don’t know, Madison. Rick said to stay close until he and Daryl get back.”

“I’m not saying we leave the rest in the dust,” Madison explained, straining to keep the frustration out of her voice, “just maybe on the other side of the Hyundai? I really think we need to talk.”

“Fine,” Carol agreed with a sigh and followed Madison just out of earshot of the rest of the group. “What did you want to say?”

Carol’s flippant attitude after nearly getting them both killed and attacking her in front of the others made Madison’s blood boil and she quickly counted to ten before responding, “Look Carol, I know you don’t like me and we’ve had more than our fair share of fights. I’ve said a lot of things I wish I hadn’t and I know you don’t believe me when I say this, but I am sorry for all of them.” Carol scoffed and folder her arms as Madison spoke, “I want us to at least try and get along; so here I am, waving the white flag.”

“Just like that, with a few empty words, you think we can become best friends?”

“No, I know it will take more than words, but I’m willing to try. We don’t have to be best friends, but we do have to be able to coexist and trust each other; it’s too dangerous to not be able to count on those around you.” Carol seemed bored with Madison’s speech and was constantly craning her neck, looking at the storefront for any sign of Daryl, giving Madison the push she needed to address the biggest issue between them. She lowered her voice and took a small step closer to Carol, wanting to keep what she was about to say strictly between them, “I know we both have...feelings for Daryl.” Carol whipped her head around and stared at Madison with wide eyes as she continued, “I can only speak for myself, but I know that’s not going to change. We can’t be at each other’s throats all the time, especially over something so petty. We're adults for crying out loud, we should be able to act like it and not rip each other's hair out over a guy. Like I said, I'm willing to make more of an effort, and heaven knows I'm far from blameless here. What do you say? Truce?”

Madison extended her hand to Carol who just stared at her, slack jawed. “You haven’t said anything to him, have you?” she stammered, confirming Madison's suspicions.

“What? No!”

“Will you if I don’t agree to this truce of yours?” Carol asked, panic and distrust written on her face.

“Of course not. Look, I’m not blackmailing you; I’m just guessing that that's where most of our issues come from and I thought it needed to be addressed, that’s all. Truce, no truce...my lips are sealed,” Madison replied.

Carol eyed Madison, looking for any evidence that she was lying, before eventually nodding, “Fine then; truce. Now what?”

With a small smile Madison shrugged, “We stop taking cheap shots at each other and go from there?”

“Sounds doable,” Carol replied with a forced smile and an uncomfortable chuckle before abruptly turning around and returning to the group.

Madison watched her walk away and shook her head, second guessing herself and hoping she hadn’t made matters worse. She took a quick head count and realized no one was on guard duty. With a sigh she walked around to the front of the car and hopped on the hood, settling in and focusing her attention forward. Several minutes later she heard a set of footsteps approaching her and slouched down to peer through the windshield to see who it was. A smile spread across her face as Daryl walked towards her then quickly faded when Carol ran up behind him and brought him to stop by asking if he had a minute to talk. Aggravated and worried about what Carol was going to say to him, Madison faced forward again and eavesdropped on their conversation. “Has Madison talked to you?” Carol pressed, trying and failing to keep her voice calm.

Daryl’s eyes narrowed as he tersely answered her, “’bout what happened earlier; ya leavin’ ‘er t'fight them walkers alone? Yeah, she mentioned it.” Madison inwardly groaned, why did he have to phrase it like that? That was only going to make Carol angrier with her. “How could ya do that, huh? She nearly died, Carol!” Madison cringed as Daryl raised his voice at her.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Carol sputtered.

“I ain’t the one ya gotta ‘pologize t’,” he spat at her.

Carol was getting flustered, “What was I supposed to do? She was in charge and she told me to run…”

“Ya stay!” Daryl interrupted, talking over her, “Ya fight, no matter what! She coulda left ya, but she didn’t; she came lookin’ fer ya. Dumb girl’s gonna get ‘erself killed one day puttin’ others b’fore ‘erself an’ ya left ‘er t'die.”

“I wouldn’t have been out there in the first place if she hadn’t gone wandering off...” Daryl glared at her, stopping her mid-sentence. “That’s really all she talked to you about?”

“All that concerns ya. Why?”

“It’s nothing, forget I asked,” Carol mumbled, relieved that Madison was true to her word and hadn’t shared her suspicions with Daryl.

He stormed away from Carol, muttering to himself and Madison released the breath she hadn’t realized she'd been holding. Wearily, she massaged her temples; that conversation could’ve gone a lot worse, could’ve gone a lot better, but it could’ve gone worse she reminded herself as she tried to remain positive. “There y’are,” Daryl’s voice yanked her from her thoughts, making her jump.

“What's the matter with you; why are you so quiet all the time?” she whined as she slid off the car to greet him, "I hate you."

He smirked at her and squeezed her hand, “No ya don't, ya love me.”

"I knew you'd use that against me sooner or later," she quipped. She looked up at him as she chewed her bottom lip, gauging his mood and deciding if she should let him know she overheard him talking to Carol. "So...you think I'm a dumb girl, huh?" Madison teased, giggling when the smug smirk fell from his face.

"Sometimes," he muttered as he leaned against the car. "Least ya act it. Ya heard us then?" Madison nodded. "What the hell ain't ya tellin' me? What happened with Carol?"

With a sigh, Madison leaned against the car next to Daryl and looked at the sky, shaking her head. She wasn't about to tell him about the conversation she’d had with Carol minutes ago and the only other altercation with Carol weighing on her mind was a conversation she’d never wanted to have with the man beside her, knowing full well he'd fly off the handle. In a feeble attempt to avoid the discussion she whispered, "Believe me, you don't want to hear this."

"Maddie, wouldn'ta asked if I di'n't wanna know. What's goin' on?" he asked, his eyes boring into her soul.

"Promise me you won’t overreact?" she begged and he nodded hesitantly, her stalling making him nervous. "After you and Rick left this morning she accused me, in front of everyone, of..." she paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "of sleeping with you to get on Rick's good side. I guess she thinks that's why Rick put me in charge earlier; not because I'd earned it, but because I'm whoring myself out to his right hand man for 'preferential treatment' as she called it."

Daryl's silence scared her and she timidly glanced at him, shocked by the hardness in his eyes as he stared ahead, jaw clenched. All she could think of was that he was upset their secret was out in the open and blown out of proportion so she quickly went into damage control mode, tripping over her words as she tried to calm him down, "Daryl, I set her straight and told her we're not sleeping together. I-I said it in front of the whole group. Don't worry, our secret's safe. I'm so sorry-"

"What y'apologizin' fer?" he snapped as he turned to look at her; baffled that she was apologizing to him for something someone did to her. "Ya think that's what I'm pissed at? People thinkin' we're bumpin' uglies?"

"Honestly? Yeah," Madison admitted, blushing slightly, although she wasn't sure why.

"That don't matter, not when she's talkin' shit 'bout ya,” he ripped his eyes away from Madison and glared at Carol, “Me an’ ‘er are gonna have a chat; nobody’s gonna talk ‘bout my girl like that an’ get away with it.” Without another word, Daryl took several angry steps away from Madison, stomping towards the others.

As much a she wanted to, now was not the time to bask in the joy of hearing him claim her as ‘his girl’, she had to stop him from attacking Carol and making matters worse. “Daryl! No, please don’t!” Madison begged, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. Still riled up, he turned to face her, not comprehending why she stopped him. “I’ve already talked to her. I think, I-I think we’re going to be fine.” She reached up and touched his cheek, “This is why I didn’t want to tell you; I knew how upset you’d be and I didn’t want to compromise the friendship you two have.”

“She insults ya, an’ ya still stand up fer ‘er?” His expression softened as he looked at her, he’s piercing blue eyes betraying how much he loved her, “Yer one of a kind; ain’t never been lucky like this b’fore.”

“Don’t get too used to it, because you know as soon as your looks start to fade I’m gone,” she teased with a bright laugh.

Daryl raised an eyebrow at her and inched closer to her until her back was against the side of the Hyundai, “Yeah? Right back at ya, Buster.” He leaned in, bracing himself against the car, trapping her with his arms on either side of her. He stared into her eyes and with a devilish smile whispered in a husky voice, “Gonna trade ya in fer a younger model any day now.”

“Good luck with that, your choices are kind of limited these days,” she responded breathlessly as she loosely wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Guess I gotta make due with ya fer now,” he whispered in her ear, causing her heart to skip a beat.

“I’m sorry for your suffering,” Madison replied in a barely audible whisper, gently playing with his hair.

His hand moved to the base of her neck, guiding her face to his as he mumbled, “Yeah, yeah.”  Daryl covered her mouth with a gentle kiss that lacked the urgency, but not the sincerity, of the first kiss they shared. Madison felt old wounds healing with Daryl’s touch and found herself wondering how she ever doubted what he felt for her. Her thoughts were derailed as, without warning, the intensity of the kiss spiked as he kissed her with a renewed sense of urgency, wiping all thoughts from her mind except for the need to be as close as possible to the man she loved.

Much too soon, Daryl ended the kiss and rested his forehead against hers as they slowly floated back down to earth. Once his breathing returned to normal, he sighed, “Gotta get back; told Rick I’d just be a minute.”

“He can manage just a little longer without you, can’t he?” Madison asked softly as she brushed his hair off his forehead, her golden brown eyes staring up at him through her lashes.

“Nope, I’m too damn important,” he chuckled as he stood straight and turned to leave. After a few steps, he stopped and spun around to face her again, digging in his pocket. “Nearly fergot why I came lookin’ fer ya in the first place; think fast,” he instructed, tossing something to her.

She caught what Daryl threw at her, but just barely, and tried to block out his amused expression. “Not a word out of you,” she warned, “There’s a reason I was always picked last in gym class.” She examined what was in her hand. Her free hand flew to her open mouth and tears stung her eyes as she looked at the car charger Daryl just gave her. She ran to him and, with no thought of being seen, grabbed him by the collar, pulling him to her and firmly planting her lips on his. “And you think you’re the lucky one? Where on earth did you find this?” she asked, beaming at him.

“Inside,” he answered simply, enjoying her excitement too much to say much else.

“What? In there?” she asked, pointing to the gas station behind them.

He nodded with a lopsided grin, “Yup.”

She shook her head in disbelief and threw her arms around him, “Daryl, this is incredible; I can’t believe it. I can’t thank you enough!”

“No need. Keys’re in the car, go nuts,” he chuckled, returning her hug. She smiled at him once more before quickly jumping in the car and locking the door behind her just to put her paranoid mind at ease. She turned the key just enough to run the battery and immediately began charging her phone, anxious to see her family and friends again. She couldn’t hold her tears back anymore once the familiar glow of the screen lit the cabin of the Hyundai and she got lost looking at all of her pictures and listening to some of her favorite songs.

When the sun started setting and Madison hadn’t joined the group in the convenience store, Daryl ran out to drag her from the car and bring her safely inside. “Maddie, c’mon. Ya can’t stay out here all night, yer gonna kill the battery,” he called as he approached the driver's side door. There was no response and he grumbled under his breath, looking over his shoulder for signs of trouble, “Ain’t got time fer this Maddie, now c’mon.” He yanked on the door handle and it didn’t budge; for the first time he peered into the car and saw Madison wiping her face. Frantically he tugged on the handle again. “Maddie? What happened? Open the damn door; let me in!” he shouted, slapping the glass to get her attention.

Startled, Madison whipped her head around; the fear on Daryl’s face making her blood run cold as her mind ran through all the horrible things that could’ve happened while she’d been safe in the car. She fumbled with the door as she tried to open it, eventually succeeding and bombarding him with questions, “Daryl, what’s going on? Is someone hurt? Is everyone okay?”

“Ya tell me. Yer the one locked in here cryin’; scoot over,” he pointed to the passenger seat and she climbed into the vacant seat giving him room to join her. Once he was settled, Daryl tried to read her face; he was so sure he’d done the right thing by finding that charger for her, so why was she reacting like this? How did he manage to screw this up too? “Thought ya wanted that thing workin’ again…” he mumbled, his words fading out as he spoke, his eyes falling to the floor.

“I did, I do. Daryl, look at me. I can’t begin to tell you what this means to me,” she reassured him, resting her hand on his leg. “All these people I never thought I’d see again...it’s a lot to take in.” She leaned closer to him and held out her phone so he could see it as she scrolled through her photos. “I mean, look; here’s my mom. And here’s Ally...a little different than when you saw her, right?” she sighed.

Daryl nodded, thinking back to the morning they met. He looked at Madison instead of the phone as he answered, “Maybe a lil’.”

A sad smile spread across her face as she met his gaze, “To see them both healthy and happy again...to have a different visual than them covered in their own blood with their eyes glazed over...it’s the best gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you.”

“But yer cryin’,” he pointed out in a gentle whisper as he brushed a stray tear off her cheek, still confused by her reaction.

Madison chuckled, “It’s a weird mix of emotions I don’t know if I even understand. Seeing them reminds me of how much I miss them, but at the same time I’m thrilled to be seeing them. I know it doesn’t make much sense; but it’s wonderful...and it’s because of you.”

He smiled at her and took hold of her free hand, “‘lright, show me what ya’ve got.” He leaned on the armrest between them so he could see better, “Think it’s ‘bout time I meet yer folks.” Madison shot him a questioning glance and he nodded to her, letting her know he was serious; with a large smile she rested her head on his shoulder as she held up her phone and swiped through picture after picture.

As she was giving him a glimpse into her past, Daryl was surprised that he was actually enjoying getting to know her better this way. The woman sitting next to him had changed him so much without even trying; he hardly recognized himself. Before she came into his life, looking through someone's family photos would’ve been cruel and unusual punishment and her emotional scene he stumbled on minutes before would’ve sent him running in the opposite direction. For some reason getting to know her and letting her in wasn’t scary like it was with others; it was easy and as natural as breathing.

“Hold up, go back,” he directed and Madison scrolled back to a picture of her sitting in a chair next to a tall, blond man with his hand possessively gripping her shoulder. Daryl made a face at the picture, “Who’s that asshole?”

“That would be Charles,” Madison answered flatly.

“Ya look differ’nt; kinda sad an’ scared,” he commented, studying the girl in the photo who looked remarkably like the woman sitting next to him, but didn't have the same fire in her eyes.

She sighed, “Yeah, sounds about right. That was not a good night. I ran into an old friend from high school at that party and he and I were just catching up and laughing a little...and of course it didn’t even matter that he was married with a baby on the way; Charles flipped out that night after we left and...I think my cover story for that black eye and fat lip was getting hit in the face playing softball with my cousins.”

“Worst thing ‘bout ya killin’ that bastard is now I can’t,” Daryl growled.

“You don’t mean that.”

“Try me, Maddie.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Madison whispered, taking one last look at the picture before hitting delete and facing Daryl, “It’s in the past. I’m just glad you’re here with me now.”

Daryl watched her in the glow from her phone, imaging the hell her life must have been all those years with Charles and remembering all the times he’d lost his temper with her and she’d flinched or braced for a punch. “I know I can be a prick an’ I’ve scared ya b’fore with my yellin’,” he paused and carefully took the phone from Madison’s hand and placed it on the dashboard then held both of her small hands in his, “but I’m differ’nt from that douchebag, Maddie; I ain’t ever gonna hit ya. I wan’ya t’know yer safe with me.”

Madison blinked back a new set of tears. She was moved by the sincerity behind his words, but she hated that she’d given him reason to think she distrusted him. “I know that. Daryl, of course I know that,” she whispered, willing him to believe her, “When I flinch or tense up, it’s nothing more than a reflex from years with Charles. Please don’t think it’s because of you, it’s not-I promise. I trust you.”

“Good,” he replied, unsure of what else to say. Switching gears abruptly, he cleared his throat before trusting himself to speak again, “Now the sun’s gone, best get inside where it’s safe. Grab yer things an’ let’s go.” Madison unplugged the charger and turned off her phone while Daryl took the keys from the ignition and dropped them in a cup holder then they both jumped out of the car.

Before they got too far, Madison darted over to Merle’s motorcycle and stashed the charger in the bag at the back of the bike. “You don’t mind, right?” she asked when she rejoined Daryl and they started walking to the convenience store.

“Would it matter if I did?” Daryl teased. She shook her head and he put his arm around her as he led her inside.

“Okay, good; we’re all here now. T, let’s barricade that door,” Rick instructed when Daryl and Madison walked through the door.

Daryl immediately went to help Rick and T barricade the door while Madison went and stood by Lori. “I had no idea you were waiting for us,” she apologized to anyone who would listen, “I didn’t mean to put everyone at risk…”

“You didn’t,” Lori told her. “They came up with this idea about two minutes before you two got here, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

The conversation then turned to lighthearted chatter for the first time in days as the weary group of survivors let themselves relax a little. Madison’s concentration was broken when Daryl came and stood next to her and pushed a power bar into her hand. “Ain’t much, but we found some supplies here; the place weren’t picked clean. Rick’s real optimistic fer the other stores when we hit ‘em tomorrow. Good call, Buster,” he told her with a proud smile and a wink before joining Rick at the counter so they could figure out their next move.

Pleased with herself, Madison smiled as she opened the power bar and broke off a piece, rejoining the conversation. Lori’s stomach growled and Madison glanced at her then handed her the rest of her power bar. “Madison, no; I’m not going to take your food. I already had one and you haven’t eaten yet; it’s yours,” Lori insisted.

“I had some, I’m fine,” Madison lowered her voice as she continued, “Lori, I’m not the one that’s pregnant; you need this more than me.”

Lori’s eyes went wide, “How did you know? You weren’t there when Shane blurted it out in front of everyone.”

“News travels fast in this group,” Madison answered with a shrug, “You need to keep your strength up; for you and for the baby.” She shook the power bar in Lori’s direction as she spoke, “Please take it.” Reluctantly, Lori took it and gave Madison a grateful smile.

From the corner of his eye, Daryl watched Madison hand Lori the majority of her small ration of food and rolled his eyes, not sure if he was more irritated with Lori for taking it or Madison for offering it in the first place. “You know what, let's go over the rest of this tomorrow mornin’; we can sleep on it. It’s clear you’ve got other things on your mind,” Rick told Daryl once it became obvious that he wasn’t paying attention to a single word coming out of Rick’s mouth.

Daryl acknowledged Rick’s comment with a brief nod and a grunt, still watching Madison and Lori. A few seconds later, Madison could feel someone watching her and glanced at Daryl, catching his gaze. She smiled and nodded him over as he continued to stare at her and shake his head. Madison threw her head back in exasperation and wandered over to him. “I wish you weren’t so anti-social all the time. How’s tomorrow looking? What’s the plan?” she asked.

“Madison…”

“It’s never good when you use my real name. What? Am I in trouble or something?” she joked although his stern expression made her uneasy.

Never taking his eyes off her, Daryl asked gruffly, “Why’re ya givin’ yer rations t’Lori?”

His question caught Madison completely off guard and she threw a confused look at him, “Um, she’s pregnant.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“So she needs it more than me,” she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Bullshit. Use yer head fer a change; ya need to keep yer strength up, jus’ like the rest of us. Ain’t gonna be smooth sailin’ fer us ‘til we find somewhere safe, whenever that’ll be. Don’t jeopardize yerself fer Lori’s sake,” Daryl told her, his face was still stern although his eyes were filled with concern. He knew he was overreacting; she was a caring woman and that was one of the things he loved about her, but she obviously didn’t believe that she was worth as much as those around her and that frustrated him. If she could just see herself the way he saw her instead of the way Charles saw her, he knew she would be unstoppable.

Madison rolled her eyes. “Like you have room to talk after nearly killing yourself looking for Soph-” at the mention of Sophia, Daryl shot an icy glare at her that cut her off mid-thought. “Sorry,” she murmured, reaching out and caressing his back.

“Yer a smart girl, ya jus’ needa act like it; this is yer life yer messin’ with, an’,” he paused, his tongue in his cheek as he thought about what he was going to say next. ”An’ I can’t lose ya,” he added quietly, thinking how close he came to losing her earlier that morning.

“I’m not going anywhere. It was one granola bar, it won’t happen again. I’ll take care of myself, I promise.” She glanced over her shoulder at the group and made sure no one was paying attention to them before giving him a quick peck on the cheek, “Don’t worry so much.”

It took a few days for Madison to relax and feel safe in the convenience store and by the time she reached that point the rest of the group was growing more and more restless, anxious to find something more permanent. She was at a loss as to why everyone around her wanted to pull up stakes and move on so soon when they had a secure roof over their heads and enough supplies to last them a couple of weeks. While it was true that it was easy enough to gather the supplies and toss them in the back of the car, Madison still didn’t see the appeal of giving up a good thing for the dream of something better. Rick persuaded the others that they needed to get back out on the road and looking for a better place to wait out the winter before the bad weather hit and Madison was overruled.

Weeks turned into months as the small group struggled to survive the winter; the dream of finding a secure place to call theirs fading with each passing day. They considered themselves lucky if they were ever able to stay in one place more than a night or two: falling into a well-organized routine of scavenging, fighting, and running. Each group member had a job to do and would immediately fall into position when needed, reminding Madison of soldiers fighting in formation.

The winter was particularly rough on Lori and since Rick had all but abandoned his wife, Madison did her best to keep an eye on her. Knowing malnutrition was one of the biggest threats to Lori and her baby, she continued to give Lori as much of her rations as she could spare when she could do so without Daryl catching her, not anxious to have that argument with him again. She felt herself slowing down and getting weaker, but she told herself it was nothing more than exhaustion. Lying to herself made it so she could avoid admitting that she was doing exactly what Daryl was afraid she would do; jeopardizing her health for Lori’s. Living a life of nonstop motion and ever changing plans was draining Madison mentally as well as physically and she cherished her relationship with Daryl even more. He was the one constant in her life and she hated keeping this secret from him, but she dreaded his reaction if he ever caught on even more.

In what Hershel and his years of farming experience supposed to be early February the group drove by some public storage lockers. No one thought much of them until a car horn blasted and brought the caravan to a stop. Rick hopped out of the SUV and assessed the lockers from the side of the road, soon joined by the rest of the group. “Rick, what are you doing? It’s going to be dark soon, we need to keep going,” Lori pointed out, knowing her husband wouldn’t acknowledge her, but not wanting to give up on trying.

Crossbow at the ready, Daryl stood next to Rick and looked at the lockers, “Y’ain’t thinkin’ of stayin’ here, are ya?”

“Why not?” Rick asked. “They’re not much, but they’re damn near impenetrable and could keep us warm and dry. Probably even find some blankets and warm clothes in them. Look, there’s even a fence.”

Daryl shook his head, “Yeah, a broke fence.”

“Fences we can fix; we haven’t stayed in one place for more than a few hours in weeks; I think it’s worth checkin’ out, we’ll never know unless we try,” Rick defended his idea.

“I don’t see any movement; it looks like we’d be the only ones here, living or dead,” Glenn commented, scanning the surrounding area.

Daryl shook his head, “Ain’t what’s on the outside we gotta worry ‘bout, it’s what could be hidin’ inside them lockers.” He turned to Rick, “What if a group like Randall’s has ‘lready claimed 'em? This worth startin’ a fight over? One we’d lose?” Daryl had never been a cautious man, but after their every attempt to find a permanent place to live had failed over the past few months he was starting to think it best to error on the side of caution. Moving from place to place was exhausting and was taking its toll on everyone, but it had kept the group alive so far; why risk what was working for something that could blow up in their face and get everyone killed? He’d voiced his opinion on the matter to Rick on a number of occasions and was always overruled. Rick felt as strongly about finding a place to call home as Daryl did about staying mobile, both men driven by the need to do what they believed to be best for their family; Rick worried about his son and unborn child and Daryl concerned for Madison who had become his family.

“He’s got a point,” Maggie chimed in, “Maybe if we just send a few people in to scout it out, that way if there are people inside already we won’t been seen as a threat."

“There could be two of us or twenty; a group of strangers pokin' around their camp, we’d still be seen as a threat,” Hershel interjected.

“And we’d need the numbers close by if things fell apart,” Rick stated, “No time to wait for backup, even if it’s just feet away.”

Excited by the prospect of staying in one place for a few days and worried that it would slip away, Madison prodded Rick forward, “Enough talk. Rick, if we’re doing this let’s do it before we lose the light.”

Daryl turned to face her, “Ya serious? Ya like this idea?”

“I like the idea of being able to sleep for more than two hours at a time and not running for a change,” she answered.

“Fine,” he groaned, in the minority once again. He then addressed the group, “Listen up; we do this in formation an’ we start in the center. If anybody’s here, that’s where they’ll be, but them middle lockers're where we’ll be safest.”

Everyone turned to Rick after Daryl finished giving instructions. “You heard him,” Rick barked, “Let’s go!”

As quietly as they could, the group inched towards the lockers, weapons out and ready to strike. They stood in front of the centermost storage locker and everyone held their breath as Daryl and T-Dog broke the lock off. Daryl motioned T back with the others then threw the door open, jumping back from the unit like it was a poisonous snake. Much to everyone’s relief there was no hidden danger lurking inside and they moved on with confidence to the next locker where they were rewarded with the same result.

Moving down the row to the next unit Daryl and T assumed their positions at the door. “There’s no lock on this one,” T pointed out.

Daryl tried to lift the door open, but it wouldn’t budge. “It’s jammed real good,” he grunted as he tried to move the door again, “Don’t need a lock with a busted door.”

“Think we can get it open or should we just leave it for now?” Rick asked, tugging on the door himself.

“Nah, we can get it. Jus’ gonna take lil’ muscle. C’mon,” Daryl answered. The three men yanked on the door and it finally gave way and rose three feet off the ground before sticking again and releasing a strong, putrid smell. Daryl gave a low whistle, “Whate’er’s in there ain’t gonna be pretty.”

“Walkers?” Madison asked, burying her nose in the crook of her arm to block the smell.

“Prob’ly,” he answered her honestly. The group aimed their weapons, ready to cover the men at the locker door as they sharply yanked the door up the rest of the way and jumped back from the monsters inside.

No one was prepared for what they saw when the door gave way and flew open, pausing before springing into action; the walkers staggering towards them varied in age from children to the elderly, they had been a family. Madison gasped when she realized what must’ve happened; this family had taken refuge in the locker thinking they’d be safe and they got trapped when the door jammed, making their sanctuary their tomb as they died a slow, terrifying death as one by one they turned.

The group took out the walkers efficiently and quickly, except for Madison who was struggling to muster up the strength to jab her knife deep enough into the skull of the walker she was fighting. After several attempts she was able to kill it and she fell to her knees too exhausted and unsteady to stand anymore. She heard a growl and looked up just as a little boy, who had been no older than eight when he died, lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. She fought to get the upper hand, but couldn’t get the walker off of her long enough to use her knife; instead using all of her remaining energy to keep its chomping jaws at arm’s length. She cried out from the exertion catching Daryl’s attention. He was by her side in seconds and plunged his knife into the base of the walker’s skull just as easily as if he were popping a balloon. The boy fell limp on top of Madison and she couldn’t even move him then.

“Seriously Maddie, what the hell? It’s jus’ a kid,” Daryl exclaimed pulling the walker off of her and yanking her to her feet. He took a moment and examined her, making sure it didn’t get her. Looking at her closely like he was, he was struck by how much weight she’d lost these past few months; everyone had thinned out some, but nothing like Madison had. How long had she been like this and why didn’t he notice sooner? Concern replaced irritation as he rubbed her arms, “Ya doin’ okay?”

Noise from inside the storage unit caught her attention before she could answer him. She held her finger to her lips and listened carefully, grateful for a legitimate reason to avoid Daryl’s question. “It sounds different than the others, but I think there’s another walker in there,” she whispered.

She cautiously crept into the locker with Daryl right behind her; she could hear the growls, but couldn’t see anything else in there. They followed the sound to the edge of the unit and the dresser shoved against the wall. While Madison checked the boxes surrounding the dresser, Daryl slowly started opening the drawers and paused when he opened the third drawer from the top, “Shit.”

“What? Did you find something?” Madison asked, peering over his left shoulder. She looked in the drawer and fell speechless as she looked down at the tiny baby turned walker staring up at them. With a strangled cry she closed her eyes and pressed her face against Daryl’s shoulder as she tried to pull herself together; she had seen some terrible things since the turn, but this was among the worst. There was something so inherently wrong with something that had been so innocent and beautiful becoming one of these things. "Why would someone stick a baby in a drawer?"

Daryl moved his arm so he could hold her; he stared at the little monster in front of them and had to fight to see it for what it was now rather than the infant it had been. He shook his head as he answered her. “Who the hell knows; maybe it died an' they 'buried' it there, maybe they was tryin' t'keep it safe when they started turnin'. Wan’ me t’take care of it?” he asked, kissing the top of Madison’s head.

She shook her head and took a deep breath to steady herself, “No, I can. Make sure Lori and Rick can’t see.” With a nod Daryl stepped between the dresser and the door to block the view from outside. Madison pulled a sweater from the drawer and covered the baby with it, knowing she couldn’t do what had to be done if she could see it’s face. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” she whispered as she drove her knife into the walker’s brain, dissolving into tears when the movement beneath the sweater stopped. Daryl pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly until her tears had passed.

By nightfall the group had settled in around a fire in the middle of the pavement between the rows of storage lockers and ate their small dinner. “Our food supply is gettin' low, what're the chances there’s anythin' in these lockers?” Maggie asked.

“Not good,” Daryl answered, “Me an’ Maddie’ll go huntin’ first thing t’morrow.”

Madison glanced at Daryl, “Will you finally teach me how to use your bow?”

“Ya quit naggin’ me if I do?” he teased. She nodded and placed the half full can of questionable chili she’d been eating on the ground. Daryl leaned over, picked it back up, and handed it to her, “Finish yer food. Never answered me earlier, ya doin’ okay?”

She held on to the can, but didn’t take another bite. “I’m just not feeling well and this isn’t helping,” she muttered, holding the can up and mentally kicking herself for blatantly lying to Daryl.

“You really don’t look good, you haven’t for a while,” Maggie interjected.

“Gee, thanks Maggie.”

“She’s right,” Daryl agreed and Madison glared at him. “What ya think it is?”

Uncomfortable with all the questions and having to come up with more lies, Madison sighed before answering, “It’s nothing. Just the flu or something. I’ll get some rest and be better in no time.”

Daryl licked his fingers clean before touching her face, “Don’t feel like ya got a fever. Finish yer dinner an’ then go lay down.” He cupped her cheek and gave her a quick kiss then he stood quickly, announcing, “Gotta take a piss.”

“Wow, you smooth talker, you,” Madison chuckled as he stood up. She wasn’t sure exactly how or why it happened, but over the course of the winter Daryl had become more and more open with showing affection in front of the group, not that she was complaining. They never made an announcement that they were together, but as time went on it just became general knowledge that she and Daryl were a couple and that fact was readily and quietly accepted by the group, with the exception of some good natured teasing here and there. Even after all this time, there was a thrill that shot through her every time he acknowledged their relationship publicly and she hoped that thrill would never go away.

“Shut up. I’ll check on ya later,” he promised, shouldering his crossbow and wandering off into the darkness.

As Daryl walked by, Glenn couldn’t pass up the opportunity to push his buttons, “Aren’t you just adorable?”

“Bite me, Short Round,” Daryl growled.

Madison laughed and took a few more bites of chili before standing up and making her way across the circle to Lori. “Here,” she mumbled, handing the partial can to the pregnant woman.

“You don’t have to keep doing this,” Lori insisted, accepting the food.

“Someone has to watch out for you,” Madison replied loud enough for Rick to hear then left for the storage locker she’d been assigned to earlier, deciding to do as Daryl told her and rest.

Unbeknownst to Madison, Daryl had been making his way back to the group and while he was hidden in the shadows, he could see her giving Lori her food. He stood there, dumbfounded, realizing that Madison had been lying to him and this is why she’d lost so much weight; all this time she’d been sneaking her food to Lori and was slowly starving herself. He was angry at her for being dumb enough to do this to herself, but worse than that was the realization that all those months ago she’d lied when she said this wouldn’t happen again and that she’d been lying to him ever since; he felt betrayed. He tried to calm himself down and convince himself that this was a one time thing; Madison said she was sick and the food wasn’t helping so rather than waste it, she decided to give it to Lori...that made sense, right? Slowly walking back to the group, he told himself that over and over again, ignoring the gnawing sensation in his stomach that told him his first hunch was right.

As promised, first thing in the morning Madison and Daryl left to go hunting, opting to take the SUV rather than Daryl’s bike because it was warmer and Daryl was convinced they were going to come back with a deer and would need the space to bring it back to camp. They traveled in silence, Daryl paying more attention to Madison than the road as he drove. Uncomfortable with him watching her so closely, Madison broke the silence, “Stop staring at me and watch the road.”

Daryl grunted and returned his attention to driving for a moment then, casting a sidelong glance at Madison, asked, “What’s really goin’ on with ya?”

“Daryl, not this again,” she groaned. “I told you, I think I must be coming down with a stomach bug, the flu or something. I had a dizzy spell and I wasn’t feeling well, that’s all. That happens to people all the time when they’re run down; it’s not a big deal.”

Unconvinced, he pressed her further, “That’s it, huh? Nothin’ ya think I oughta know?”

“Like what? Stop beating around the bush and just say what’s on your mind.”

“Yer gettin’ skinnier.”

Madison chuckled, “That’s it? Daryl, we’re all getting skinnier; it’s been a rough couple of months. Please don’t worry about me, okay? I’m fine.” He didn’t say anything in response, mostly because he wasn’t sure if he believed her, but he reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly, trying to let her know how much she meant to him through that squeeze alone.

When Daryl found a spot he thought looked promising, he pulled off the road and they got out of the car. “Wanna take lead?” he asked, cocking his crossbow and handing it to Madison.

“You’re trusting me with tracking and the bow? Big day,” she exclaimed, flinging the crossbow over her shoulder then turning her attention to the forest. “All right then, this way,” she directed, leading Daryl into the trees. He fell in line behind her and watched as she picked her way through the underbrush, impressed by how much she’d learned.

An hour into their hunt, Madison stopped short, swaying slightly, and grabbed hold of a nearby tree to steady herself. Daryl rushed to her and took the bow from her and told her to sit down. “Ya sure it’s jus' the flu?” he asked, sitting down next to her and checking for a fever again. “Ya still feel fine, maybe this was a mistake. Shoulda jus’ come alone.”

“No, no. I’m fine. I just got a little dizzy, that’s all,” she forced herself to her feet, thankful to be steady on them once again. Looking at Daryl she smiled at him to put his mind at ease, “See? It passed, let’s keep going. We’re on a good trail.” He shook his head and jumped to his feet, shouldering the crossbow. “Come on, don't be like that. I can take it," she insisted, holding out her hand.

“Ya jus’ focus on findin’ that deer. I’ll give this t’ya when it’s time t’shoot,” he promised, studying her. She resigned with a sigh and walked forward again, very aware of Daryl’s eyes on her, watching her every move carefully. Several minutes later, she stopped again. Worried, he put his hand on her shoulder and whispered, “Ya need t’sit again?” Madison held her finger to his lips, silencing him, and pointed forward to a deer 10 yards in front of them. She motioned for him to back up. He gave her a quizzical look, but did as he was told. When he thought they were far enough away that he could safely speak again without spooking the deer, he asked, “What was that?”

“Give me the bow, I need to practice,” she explained, only to get a confused expression in return. “You said you’d give me the bow when it was time to shoot, but I need to practice first. If I miss, I’ll spook him and we’ll be out of luck.”

He couldn’t argue with her and handed her his bow, explaining where the sights were and how to position it when shooting. He gave her a target and she pulled the trigger, hitting it on the first try. “Good job, Buster. Tell ya the truth, I’s expectin’ more crappy shootin’ like with the gun,” he joked, fetching the bolt from the tree. “Now t’cock it, put it down an’ stick yer foot…” Daryl’s sentence trailed off as she went ahead without waiting for his instructions and put her foot in the stirrup.

“What? I’ve watched you enough times, I at least know how to do this,” she smirked, pulling the string with all her strength, but not being able to pull it back far enough to lock it in place. Frustrated, she eased the tension, adjusted her grip and pulled again, but with no better luck.

“Give it here, we’re gonna lose that deer anyhow if we take much longer. Jeez, Maddie. I could cock this thing after ripping a bolt clean through me, what’s yer excuse?” he asked as he took his bow back and cocked it effortlessly, giving her a hard time and trying to downplay his concern.  

Frustrated with herself for letting herself get so weak, she mumbled, “Not all of us have arms the size of tree trunks like you, Dixon.” Daryl rolled his eyes at her and headed back in the direction of the deer. She followed him for a few steps and then started feeling lightheaded again, blinking rapidly when her eyes wouldn’t focus. She leaned forward to brace herself on Daryl’s shoulder or a tree, whatever she could grab, but found nothing to hold on to; her last memory was the sensation of falling forward before her world went black and hitting her head on a jagged rock.

A sickening crack rang through the trees. Daryl spun around and his heart stopped when he saw Madison on the ground, not moving. He dropped his crossbow and ran to her, panicking when he saw the small pool of blood forming around her head. Falling to his knees beside her, he gently rolled her onto her back so he see where the blood was coming from. She had a large gash across her right eyebrow that ran down past the corner of her eye and her eye was starting to swell. “Maddie?” he whispered as he looked at her, unsure of how best to help her. He put his ear to her mouth, relief washing over him when he felt her warm breath hit his skin. “Maddie!” he said again, shaking her, “Madison! C’mon girl, wake up!”

After a few seconds, Madison groaned as she tried to pull herself out of her unconscious state. Her eyes fluttered open and the first thing she saw was Daryl’s frantic face and the fear in his eyes, which made her panic immediately. “Daryl? Daryl, wh-what happened?” she whispered, raising her hand to see what the sticky liquid covering her head was. She winced when she touched her face. Everything was still foggy to her as she tried to piece together what happened and why she was in pain, she looked at her hand and her eyes went wide when she saw the blood covering her fingers and the pieces fell into place. Terrified, she tried to sit up; instantly feeling lightheaded again.

“Maddie, don’t move,” Daryl instructed, “Yer gonna be fine.” She looked at him as he tried to calm her down and started to fade out again. “No, no, no, no! Maddie, stay with me!” he shouted, but she was unconscious again.

As quickly as he could, Daryl pulled his red handkerchief from his back pocket, rolled it up and tied it around Madison’s head to try and control the bleeding. He stood up and threw his crossbow over his shoulder then bent down and picked up Madison’s limp body and carefully made his way through the forest. Once he finally reached the car, he laid her down in the back seat, ripped off his jacket, and placed it under her head to keep it elevated before jumping behind the wheel and speeding back to the storage lockers. He tore into camp and skidded to a stop, ignoring everyone’s questions as he ran around to the back door, yelling for Hershel as he gently pulled Madison from the back seat and cradled her in his arms. “Don’t jus’ stand there, somebody get Hershel!” he hollered at the gathering of concerned onlookers.

Hershel ran over, hearing the commotion, and sprang into action. “Bring her in here,” he instructed, leading Daryl to a vacant locker, “Carol, grab that needle and thread you found and the cleanest fabric you can get your hands on.” Daryl set Madison down on a couch inside the storage unit and hovered over her as Hershel started to examine her injuries. Knowing nothing he would say could make Daryl leave Madison’s side, but needing more room to work, Hershel came up with a job to give Daryl and patiently explained it to him, “It’s too dark in here, I can’t see properly. There’s a flashlight in the glove compartment of the Hyundai. Go grab it for me then come back and hold it up so I can see.” Without question, Daryl sprinted out to the car and back in a matter of seconds and held the light while Hershel stitched Madison’s wound and bandaged her up.  

When Hershel finished cleaning Madison up, he stepped out to give Daryl some space while he waited anxiously for her to wake up. He couldn’t come to terms with what he was feeling as he stared at Madison’s battered face. On one hand he was terrified that she wouldn’t wake up, even though Hershel assured him she would be fine, and on the other he was furious with her for lying to him and being so careless with her health. He had tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but this was obviously more than just a stomach bug and missing half of one meal; she’d been starving herself for months and lying to his face about it. She had always been honest with him, or so he thought, since the day they met; if she’d been hiding this, what else was she hiding?

Daryl stood up and started pacing, the anxiety and anger needing to be released somehow. Wearily, he ran his hands over his face; what if she didn’t wake up? He’d come to depend on her so much, what would he do with himself if she died? How could she do this to him, be so stupid and die on him this way? A small moan came from the couch and he whipped around and immediately felt the fear and anxiety leave his body as he watched Madison fight to regain consciousness, finally knowing with certainty that she was going to be all right.

The relief he felt was short lived; now that the fear he felt was gone, all he was left with was the anger at her stupidity and betrayal that filled every cell of his body. Shaking with rage, he stormed out of the storage unit before she opened her eyes, unable to stand being in the same room as her.

Madison woke to a splitting headache and an empty locker. She looked around for Daryl and couldn’t deny that she was hurt he wasn’t there with her and told herself that he must have stepped away to talk to Hershel. She sighed and closed her eyes, seeking relief from the pounding in her head and the pain from what she assumed were stiches, and fell asleep. A few hours later she woke up to a loud crash that got her heart racing and made the pain in her head even worse. She looked up and saw Daryl standing over her, a bitter scowl on his face. She slowly sat up, pressing a hand to her head in a futile attempt to relieve her headache. “What’s your problem?” she groaned as she looked around for the source of the crash, finding a metal bowl with some sort of soup or stew in it sitting on the filing cabinet next to the couch she’d been laying on.

“Ain’t got a problem; jus’ brought ya some food. Wan’ me t’bring Lori in here t’eat it fer ya?” Daryl sneered.

Madison froze; he knew. How did he find out? “Daryl…” she began.

“Ya lied t’me!” Daryl screamed, cutting Madison off, “Ya ain’t eatin’, that’s why ya passed out!”

“And I’m fine, by the way; thanks for asking,” she shot back, irritated that he was so mad at her for trying to help a member of their group and that he wasn’t around when she needed him when she woke up in pain, scared and alone.

Daryl glared at her, “Why the hell ya gotta be so stupid, huh?”

“Excuse me?” Madison asked, struggling to her feet, not liking the feeling of Daryl towering over her when he was like this.

He took a step closer to her, “What? Ya don’t like me callin’ ya stupid? Then stop actin’ like such a dumbass! Ya coulda died!” The real issue finally found its way to the surface; Daryl thought he was going to lose her and he was lashing out, using anger to cover up and hide the overpowering fear he felt earlier. He knew he wasn’t responding appropriately, but he was too worked up to care.

“I have it under control, Lori needs help and we all know she’s not going to get it from Rick!”

“This is what ya call havin’ it under control? Yer dumber than I thought!”

“You know what, Daryl? Get out!” she yelled at him, sick of being insulted, “I can’t stand you when you're like this!”

“Like what? Right?”

With a dark chuckle Madison shook her head, “Smug. Arrogant. Condescending. Judgmental. Take your pick, there’s plenty more where those came from!”

“Fine,” he growled, making Madison take a step back, “Don’t wanna spend any longer in here than I gotta, might get yer stupid on me.”

“Get out!” she shouted, gathering her strength and shoving Daryl as hard as she could, frustrated that her best efforts barely moved him, “Stay away from me!”

“Fine!” he yelled again, overturning a cardboard box as he left. Madison tensed as the box tumbled to the floor; he’d yelled at her more times than she could count, but he’d never physically displayed his anger towards her before and it frightened her. “Dumb bitch,” he grumbled as he stormed out the door, leaving Madison scared and alone once again.

The next morning Madison woke up still feeling miserable after a restless night and wished she still had the pain killers Daryl gave her when she fractured her ribs. Daryl. A sharp ache gripped her heart when she thought of him and she remembered their terrible fight the night before. Determined to talk to him and make things right, she pushed herself to her feet and staggered outside, struggling to keep her balance. She saw him throwing his bow into the SUV and made her way over to him. Timidly, she cleared her throat and asked him where he was going.

He didn’t look at her, just grunted and rolled his eyes then replied, “Huntin’. Gotta go out again ‘cause last time some stupid bitch fainted an’ cracked ‘er skull open an’ I came back with nothin’.”

Madison hung her head, seeing how her actions had affected not only Daryl, but the entire group. “I’ll get my stuff and we can leave,” she muttered, volunteering to go with him out of habit.

“What makes ya think I wan’ ya comin’ with me again? Ya did ‘nough yesterday. Can’t babysit yer helpless ass an’ hunt at the same time. Y’ll only slow me down,” he growled as he swung open the car door. “Now get outta my way, Orphan Annie, b’fore I run ya over.” He slammed the door in Madison’s face before she could say a word and sped away, leaving her standing slack jawed and furious in the middle of camp.

Daryl returned later that afternoon with a raccoon and a couple of jack rabbits, but not a deer, which made Madison extremely happy, even though she knew it was wrong to feel that way since the group needed the food so badly. The two of them avoided each other like the plague for the rest of the day, only speaking to hurl insults at each other if they were within earshot; Madison favoring “redneck prick” and Daryl preferring “stubborn jackass”.

Evening fell and the group settled in around the fire to eat, Madison sat next to Maggie while Daryl separated himself from the group and leaned against the door of a storage locker several units down from where the group was gathered. Madison glanced at Daryl, momentarily concerned that he was pulling away again; he hadn’t done that since the day Sophia died. She shook her head and reminded herself of the horrible things he’d said and how he’d abandoned her in the past twenty-four hours and she was able to suppress the worry she felt.

Madison didn’t eat with the group, having already eaten earlier at Hershel’s insistence when she’d started feeling lightheaded again that afternoon. She started feeling uneasy, like someone was watching her, and she glanced at Daryl again and caught him glaring at her. With an irritated huff, she turned away and tried to ignore the sensation of his eyes still on her. When she couldn’t take it anymore she stood up and marched over to him, yelling as she got closer, “What do you want, Daryl? Stop staring at me like that!”

Daryl scoffed, “Still not eatin’, huh? Knew ya was stupid, but I didn’t know ya was suicidal.”

“Give it a rest, will you?” she shot back, turning to leave. “And for your information I ate earlier while you were out on your pitiful hunting trip.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Madison spun around and faced Daryl again, “You act like I’ve done this horrible thing, but at least I care whether Lori and her baby lives or dies, that's more than I can say about you!”

“Only thing I care ‘bout is how fast that baby’ll get us all killed after it’s born an’ starts cryin’ all the damn time,” Daryl seethed, taking a step towards her.

Madison looked at him with disgust, “It’s a helpless, innocent baby! Do you really want to see it, see Lori, die?”

“Thinka that baby in the drawer, Madison! That what ya want fer Lori’s baby, ‘cause that’s what it’s future looks like,” he spat, "We're all infected, right? That means so's that baby; what happens when it dies b'fore it's born? It'll rip Lori apart from the inside out; ya wanna be there when that happens?"

“What is with you? She can hear you, you know! How can you be so cruel?” Madison whispered.

“Maybe I’m sicka people who can’t take carea themselves,” he thundered. “Maybe I’m sicka people that need me t’come along an’ save their asses all the time!”

Tears stung her eyes, but Madison would not give Daryl the satisfaction of seeing her cry, not this time. She took a step back and folded her arms, staring at the man in front of her. “You mean people like me?” she asked, her voice cold.

Stunned by what he’d just said, Daryl stammered, “Madison, ya know that ain’t...”

“Whatever, Daryl. Here,” she fumed, ripping her leather bracelet off her arm and throwing it at him, “I can take a hint. Congratulations, I’m officially not your problem anymore!”

“What're ya sayin'?” Daryl asked as he caught the bracelet, unable to hide the dread in his voice as he watched their argument ending far worse than he ever thought possible.

“I’m saying...I’m saying you get your wish,” Madison’s brain was screaming at her mouth to stop talking, but it wouldn’t listen as it continued spewing out words that hurled their relationship past the breaking point. “I won’t burden you anymore by needing you to take care of me. I’m not yours to save anymore; you’re free!” Her heart stopped as she heard these final, fatal words she didn't mean fall from her lips; her only hope that Daryl would fight for her, for their relationship and that somehow they could get past this.

For an instant Daryl’s face fell, the pain he felt visible in his eyes. As quickly as it appeared, it was gone as Daryl shot Madison a hateful glare, his eyes cold and gray. “Fine!” he bellowed, dismissively waving her away, “Get outta my face then! Said ya wan’ed me t’be a man an’ say when I’s done with ya? Guess what? I’m done!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently posted a "bonus scene" that falls near the middle of this chapter titled 'Incredible and Overwhelming'. If you're interested in a little more in-depth look at the beginning of Daryl and Maddie's relationship by all means check it out. *End of shameless self-promotion*


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's meant a lot of practically sleepless nights, but I got the chapter done before I move; I'm so glad because it could've been at least another week before I was able to update again. Thanks for all the encouragement and support-it means the world to me. Nothing has changed, I still only own Madison.

Daryl’s words hung in the air, polluting the space between them as they stood staring at each other in disbelief, their minds reeling from what just happened. The tears Madison had fought so hard to hold back moments ago rolled freely down her cheeks as she came to terms with what she'd done. Desperate to undo the damage her outburst caused she took a step forward and grabbed Daryl's wrist, "Daryl, please listen...I, I didn’t...”

“Don’t,” he warned her in a fierce growl, ripping free from her grasp and smacking her hands away. “Keep yer damn hands off me; leave me be!” With one last, frigid glare at the crying woman in front of him, he turned away and stormed off into the night; fighting with everything he had to ignore the pain and desperation in her voice as she called after him, begging him to listen to her. She said she wasn’t his problem anymore, she said he was free, she did this to them, he told himself; let her cry.

A war waged between his head and his heart as Daryl wandered aimlessly away from the lockers towards the road. He paused when he reached the road; he didn’t have his bow with him and there was no power on earth that could make him go back to camp right now, was distance from Madison worth risking his life over? He looked over his shoulder towards the small fire in the center of camp and saw Madison rush into a storage locker followed closely behind by, he assumed, Maggie. He checked his waistband; he had his gun, he had his hunting knife, he’d be fine. With each step he took it felt as though his heart was ripping further and further from his chest. Her tear streaked face haunted him and her desperate cries rang in his ears. He’d hoped distance would ease the agony his was in, but was finding the opposite to be true; the more distance he put between them, the more he knew it was over and the deeper the pain settled in his chest.

He trudged along the side of the road until his feet were sore, all the while his emotional pendulum swinging from despair to rage and back again. Eventually he settled on anger, an emotion he was more apt to handle, and allowed it to fill him. He hated Lori for being stupid enough to let Shane knock her up. He hated Rick for not stepping up and doing right by his wife. He hated Madison for nearly killing herself for Lori's sake and lying to him about it. He hated her for ending things between them and he hated her for making him love her, but most of all he hated himself for walking away.

Madison stood helplessly as her entire world shattered when Daryl walked away from her. Frozen in place, all she could do was plead with his disappearing back to stop and listen to her. He didn’t stop or turn around, he didn’t even so much as slow down; that’s when she knew it was over. Her mind raced, replaying the past five minutes that destroyed her life and she realized it took two people to break them up; she got the ball rolling by saying all those stupid things she’d regret until the day she died, but he hammered the last nail in the coffin. He was the one that walked away; he didn’t want her anymore, he’d made that perfectly clear.

The shock that had kept her glued to one spot gave way and she was hit with the full weight of the guilt and misery she was feeling. Overcome, she took a few unsteady steps backwards and then turned and sprinted blindly to her locker, tears blurring her vision. She found her way inside and fell to the couch, burying her head in her hands as she sobbed and asked herself out loud repeatedly, “What did I just do? What did I just do?”

“Madison, what happened?” Maggie asked, inviting herself inside Madison’s unit and joining her on the couch.

Madison took a deep, shaky breath as she tried to compose herself enough to answer Maggie’s question. “It’s over, Maggie,” she managed to say before she started crying harder; saying it out loud making it real, “Between Daryl and I...it’s over.”

“What? You can’t be serious. Who ended it?” Maggie asked, placing a comforting arm around Madison’s shaking shoulders.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? How do you not know?” Maggie pressed, sounding as bewildered as she looked.

Madison leaned back against the couch and pressed a fist to her forehead as she stared at the ceiling, studying the shadows the flickering light from the fire outside cast throughout the tiny space. “I don’t know,” she murmured, “I don’t even know how it happened. One minute we were fighting and the next he’s walking away. I told him he was free, that I’m not his problem anymore, but I didn’t mean it.”

“Did you tell him that?”

Squeezing her eyes shut to block out the memory of Daryl walking away, she slowly nodded and spoke in an unsteady voice, “But he didn’t listen. He, uh, he said he was done and walked away. I called after him, begged him to listen to me, and he just kept walking.”

Maggie took Madison’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, “I know it seems bad now, but everythin’ will be okay. This is what you guys do; you fight then make up. He needs space to cool off and once he pulls his head outta his ass he’ll be back and by noon tomorrow it’ll be like nothin’ happened.”

“I wish I could believe you,” Madison sighed, turning her head to face her friend and giving her a sad, unconvinced smile. “There’s no coming back from this. I screwed up. I gave him and out and he took it.”

“Well if that’s true, then he’s a bigger moron than I ever thought possible.”

Madison shook her head, “No. I’m the moron. I appreciate you checking on me, but I think I need to be alone right now. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. If you change your mind, you know where to find me,” Maggie offered as she stood to go. She turned back to Madison once more before she left, “I’m sorry, Madison. I really am. I never saw this comin’.”

“That makes two of us,” Madison whispered as Maggie left. She got up to close the door to her unit and stole a quick glance at the group by the fire; Daryl was nowhere to be seen. She sighed as she pulled the door closed, concern for his safety now added to the laundry list of emotions swirling inside her; she was heartbroken and angry, but she still wanted him safe. She laid down on the couch facing the back, curled into a tight ball, and prayed for sleep she knew wouldn’t come easily as tears continued to run down her face.

The next day Madison stayed hidden in her locker as long as she could justify; not eager to face the sympathy from the group over the end of her relationship, especially the fake sympathy from Carol who surely jumped up and down with joy when she heard the news. She also knew she wasn’t ready to face Daryl yet. Even after all the horrible things he’d said over the past two days, she still loved him fiercely and knew it would take time to get over him, if she ever could. As much as she hated to admit it, there was a part of her that still hoped they'd be able to work past this, even though she knew it wasn't likely.

She finally accepted that she couldn’t avoid the inevitable any longer and slowly left the safety of her locker; she looked at the sun’s position in the sky, shocked that she’d stayed hidden well into the afternoon. Silence fell over the group as Madison ambled towards them. Everyone, except for Rick and T who were on watch, was gathered around the fire sorting through piles of clothes found in the lockers. Madison took a seat next to Beth and reached for some clothes to sort through. “Madison, we heard about you and Daryl. We’re so sorry.” Lori spoke for the group.

Madison glanced up and gave a halfhearted smile in way of acknowledgement; as she scanned the group surrounding her and noticed Daryl was still missing. Before she could stop herself, she quietly asked, “Where is he?”

“We’re not sure,” Hershel answered, “Nobody’s seen him since last night.”

“He never came back?” Hershel sadly shook his head at her and fear took over as she abruptly stood up, dropping the clothes in her lap, walked back to her locker, and came back out with her revolver.

“What're you doin’?” Beth asked Madison when she returned, “I’m sure he’s just huntin’.”

Madison shook her head; he didn’t have his bow with him when he stormed off last night and he wouldn’t have come back to grab it and risked running into her. She was worried that he’d left the group for good like he’d talked about back at the farm, but his brother’s bike was still in camp which meant the most likely scenario was that he had a run in with some walkers. “He didn’t have his bow with him last night, he’s not hunting,” she explained to Beth as she double checked that her knife was in its sheath, “I’ve got to go look for him. I’m taking the car; I’ll be back before it gets dark.”

Glenn cleared his throat and pointed behind her; confused, Madison spun around and found herself face to face with Daryl. He glared at her, making her take a few steps away from him. Seeing her again, being that close to her, was harder than he’d anticipated and he pushed past her to get some space. “Thought ya said we ain’t each other’s problem now,” he bitterly threw at her as he bumped into her, knocking her slightly off balance. She’d washed her hands of him last night and now she was gearing up to go look for him? He stared her down as he passed her, wondering what kind of sick game she was playing.

“And I thought you said I’d be safe with you,” she countered, his anger rubbing off on her, “I guess we both said things we didn’t mean.” Daryl was the one who walked away, what right did he have to be mad at her?

Daryl stopped walking and looked at her over his shoulder through narrowed eyes as he tried to decipher what she was trying to say; was she saying she hadn’t meant to break up with him? He was being ridiculous thinking that way; she’d made it crystal clear how she felt last night. He scoffed, “Jus’ meant I’d never beat ya.”

“How noble of you to not beat up a woman half your size; I’m touched.”

Taking a threatening step towards her, he snarled, “It's harder than ya'd think; no wonder yer ex couldn't resist. Do me a favor an’ leave me the hell alone so I don’t go back on m’word.”

Madison stood her ground, even though the way he advanced on her frightened her and the callous way he brought up her past knocked the wind out her. “Because your word is worth so much?” she questioned, defiantly meeting his cold gaze.

“Worth a hell of a lot more than yers, ya lyin’ whore,” Daryl shot back, immediately regretting his harsh words and wishing he could take them back. A chair creaked as someone shifted in their seat, reminding him that they weren’t alone; after what happened a few months back with Carol, had he really just called her a whore in front of the entire camp? Even though he wanted to try and make things right with Madison, his wounded pride from the night before kept him from apologizing and he stared her down instead, making matters worse.

“Whore? Really?” Madison whispered, her cheeks bright red from having the rest of the survivors witness this argument. Returning his stare with a frosty one of her own, she growled, “Go to hell, Daryl.” She turned on her heel and took her seat by Beth once again, fighting with all her might to keep her head held high and her tears at bay. Once Madison broke eye contact, Daryl hung his head, ashamed by what he said. She watched him from the corner of her eye and noticed his demeanor change as he shifted his weight uncomfortably from foot to foot before casting a fleeting apologetic glance in her direction and slipping away from the group’s judgmental eyes.

Even after Daryl was out of sight, Madison kept up the act that she was okay, not wanting anyone to see how deeply his words had cut her. She could feel the others watching her and refused to look up and meet anyone’s gaze, focusing intently on picking up the clothes she’d dropped earlier. Lori broke the awkward silence that had descended on the group, "Madison, if you need to talk-"

She looked up when Lori spoke and snapped at her, cutting her off and sounding much harsher than she meant to, "We're not talking about what just happened."

Over the past several months, Hershel had come to see Madison as his third daughter and could tell that she was putting on a show. He caught her eye and gave her a comforting smile, silently asking if she was all right. She returned it with a sad half smile and a shrug. “Madison, how’s your eye feelin’? It looks like it’s still swellin’,” the older man stated.

“It’s fine,” she lied, not wanting to attract any more attention than she already had.

“You took quite a fall; you don’t have to be brave for our sakes. We understand you need to take care of yourself so you can heal. That cut's deep, it’ll take time to feel better and that’s all right,” Hershel insisted.

Madison’s chin quivered as she picked up on the double meaning behind Hershel’s words, grateful to him for giving her a graceful way to leave. “If you think it’s best,” she murmured, barely able to keep her voice steady.

“I know it is,” he stated simply.

“Go rest. We’ll grab you if we need a hand,” Beth added, catching on to the hidden meaning of what her father was telling Madison.

With a grateful glance at Hershel and his youngest daughter, Madison stood and silently made her way back to her locker; finding comfort in its isolation. After she closed the door part way, allowing for some sunlight to trickle in, she turned and leaned against it as she stared forward, unable to function enough to even make it to the sofa. Her mind wandered and she realized she felt numb; she should be furious or hurt, but she didn't feel anything. Deciding it was a blessing, she embraced her lack of emotion for the time being and forced herself to the couch to try and sleep before the crippling sadness took over again.

A quiet knock broke Madison's daze as she sat on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "Yeah? Come in," she softly called, an uneasiness settling over her as she wondered who was at the other side of her door. She held her breath, praying to see anyone other than Daryl or Carol come through the door, and released it when she saw Lori duck down and slip into her locker. Surprised by the disappointment she felt, Madison realized in the back of her mind she was hoping the knock had come from Daryl wanting to apologize and make things right; when would she stop wishing for the impossible like that?

"Thought I'd bring you some dinner for a change," Lori explained with a smile as she handed Madison a plate with a few hunks of meat on it.

Madison shook her head, "No, that's fine. You take-"

"Absolutely not. While you were unconscious Daryl cornered me and told me why you passed out on the hunt."

"I'm sorry he came after you," Madison whispered, her eyes falling to the floor torn between embarrassment for Daryl attacking Lori and heartache that a mere forty-eight hours ago he still cared about her enough to stand up for her against someone who was, in his eyes, hurting her.

Lori took a seat next to Madison, "Don't be. I had no idea what you were doing to yourself for my sake. I never thought you were putting yourself at risk or I wouldn't have let you keep giving me your rations."

With a dark chuckle, Madison responded, "No offense Lori, but you would have to be blind not to see what I was doing to myself. I'm not trying to make you feel bad, but look at me. You can't honestly tell me you didn't notice how much I've changed these past few months. I was the one that offered, I was and am happy to help, just...don't lie to me to make yourself feel better."

"That's fair," Lori quietly replied, acting like a child who had just been scolded by a parent and Madison fought to hold back an eye roll. "But I don't want you giving me your food anymore. I'll figure something else out. I don't want to be the reason you're doing this to yourself. It's the least I can do after the damage I've caused."

"But the baby..."

"Will be fine. I'll figure something out. It was wrong of me to take advantage of you this long and knowing that it ended your relationship with Daryl...I'm just so sorry."

Madison glanced at Lori out of the corner of her eye; she had the feeling that Lori was only apologizing because she'd been caught and she wanted to hear Madison say she was forgiven, not because she was actually sorry. "Thank you, but you didn't break Daryl and I up, don't worry," Madison replied, wanting to bring the false apology to an end. Lori looked relieved and stood to go, but stopped when Madison asked, nodding towards the campfire, "Is he out there?"

"He wasn't last I saw," Lori answered.

"Good," Madison stated as she stood up and grabbed the plate Lori brought her, "I need some air."

Somewhat timidly, Madison joined the rest of the group near the fire; her eyes darting from face to face making sure Daryl hadn’t made an appearance since Lori came and talked to her. “Relax, he’s not here. He’s on watch,” Maggie whispered, noticing her friend’s nervous behavior.

“I need to learn how to be around him, but…” Madison sighed; she needed space and that wasn’t a luxury this brutal world they lived in offered.

“But it’s only been a day,” Beth finished Madison’s thought for her, “It’s not fair havin' to be so close to him after a breakup this bad.”

“Personally, I always thought he got the better end of the deal,” T-Dog interjected, coming up behind Madison and putting a friendly hand on her shoulder, “The guy’s an idiot.”

She looked up at him and gave him a quick side hug, “That's not true, but thanks, T.”

“You know, if you’re lookin’ for someone to get back at him with, I’m available,” T offered with a wink.

Madison moved her arm and laughed quietly, his joke making her slightly uncomfortable, “Stop.”

“Too soon?”

“Yeah, too soon,” she chuckled, trying to joke along with him. Movement at the edge of where fire’s light fell caught her attention and she saw Daryl staring at her, his eyes narrowed; his expression wasn’t filled with hatred like it was that afternoon, he looked hurt. Madison pretended not to notice and barked at him, “What do you want?” He didn’t say anything, just shook his head and stomped away, muttering to himself. “Jerk,” Madison mumbled under her breath. She suddenly felt very antsy and stood quickly; needing something to do, she volunteered, “I’ve been resting all day. I’ll take watch.” She left before anyone could say anything, her thoughts elsewhere; Daryl’s hurt expression seared in her mind, confusing her as she took her post.

The next morning, Daryl was the first one up, which was nothing unusual. He quietly made his way to the center of camp and started a fire, deciding to warm up for a second before he headed out on another hunting trip. The cold was making game scarce and he knew if he wanted to come back with anything for the group, he’d be gone a good chunk of the day and he wanted to get going as soon as possible. The other reason he wanted to get out of camp quickly was to avoid seeing Madison. The sight of her cozying up to T-Dog the night before played in Daryl’s mind again; he hadn’t expected her to move on so quickly. He rubbed his eyes as if that would erase the image from his mind. He felt someone sit down next to him and place a hand on his shoulder; his eyes snapped open at the unexpected touch and he quickly turned his head, half expecting to see Madison next to him. He groaned when he saw Carol looking at him with pity in her eyes, shrugging her hand off his shoulder he asked gruffly, “Whaddya want?”

“I just wanted to see how you were holding up. Everyone's falling over themselves asking Madison how she is, and I bet no one's asked you yet,” Carol answered with a sad smile.

Daryl huffed in response; she was right, no one had asked him how he was doing, not that he wanted anyone to and that included Carol. “‘Cause they know it’s none their damn business.”

Carol didn’t take the hint and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, “I just want you to know that you have at least one person on your side. I don’t know why you stuck with her as long as you did. It seemed to me like you were always the one watching her back, what did she ever do for you; other than take advantage of you?”

“Ya best shut the hell up,” Daryl snarled, staring daggers at Carol. He didn’t know why he felt the need to stand up for Madison still, but he couldn’t stand listening to Carol badmouth her again. Madison had done more for him than anyone would ever realize; it just wasn't in ways others could see. She'd given him support and encouragement, for a while at least. Because of her, he was a better man now than the one that found her in the forest and no matter what she'd done to hurt him, he didn't want that taken away from her.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; you deserve better,” Carol insisted, taking his hand, “You don’t see it now, but you will.” She pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, stunning Daryl too much to move until he heard footsteps come to a stop in front of them. He looked up and saw Madison staring at them slack jawed and dropped Carol’s hand as quickly as he could.

“That was fast,” Madison murmured, shocked by what she was seeing.

“I’m sorry Madison,” Carol apologized insincerely, suppressing a smile; she knew how this must look to Madison and was pleased she was jumping to conclusions, driving a wedge even further between her and Daryl.

“Congratulations,” Madison sneered before turning to walk away.

Daryl quickly jumped to his feet and called after her, “Hey! Yer one t’talk! So y'can flirt with T, but I can’t have a conversation with a friend? That it?”

Baffled, Madison turned around and faced Daryl, “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me; I saw ya two las’ night.”

Madison folded her arms and glared at him as she responded, “Talking, Daryl. We were just talking. He was trying to make me feel better after the verbal beating I took yesterday.”

"Tryin' t'make ya feel better? Yeah, I bet 'e was."

She shook her head and threw her arms up, “What does it matter? You have Carol now, so why do you care what I do?”

“I don’t,” he replied bitterly, his eyes cold as he stared at Madison, daring her to push him further.

She held his stare for a moment, but when she felt her resolve beginning to crumble she looked down at the ground, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes. Without a word, she spun around and made her way to a locker that hadn’t been sorted through yet, stopping and looking at Daryl one more time, unable to hide the pain in her eyes.

Furious with himself for making matters worse with Madison and pushing her even further away, Daryl snatched his crossbow off the ground and threw it over his shoulder, casting a withering look at Carol. “Thanks fer makin’ things worse, couldn’ta told ‘er nothin’ was goin’ on, could ya?” he snapped.

“You didn’t say anything either,” she pointed out, making Daryl even angrier at himself. He stormed away from Carol without a word as he went over the fight with Madison in his head; why didn’t he correct her and tell her nothing was going on with Carol? He knew Carol was a sore spot with Madison after everything that had gone on between the two of them, how could he use Carol against her like that? He still loved Madison, but seemed hell-bent on pushing her away; why? Every time he saw the pain in her eyes, pain he’d caused, it felt like a knife was being plunged into his heart and he hated himself for doing that to her and promised that he’d be civil the next time he saw her; but every time he saw her his own pain would take over and he’d lash out. He knew he had to get control of his anger before he pushed her away completely; she may be the one that ended things between them, but he still wanted her in his life in whatever capacity possible and that wouldn’t happen if he didn’t stop taking his pain out on her.

Madison ran into a storage unit at random, desperate to get away from Daryl and Carol before she came undone. She closed the door behind her and let out a shaky sigh as she tried to get used to the idea of Daryl with someone else. Daryl and Carol had always had a special bond, she saw it on her first day on the farm; she was a fool to believe that it would never develop into something more than friendship. But did he have to make a move so quickly, or at the very least, couldn’t he have hidden it for a little while? She wiped a stray tear from her cheek then fumbled with the flashlight she had in her hands and surveyed the mess in the locker; at least she’d run into a locker that needed sorting, this would take her most of the day. She dove headfirst into the task at hand, busying herself to keep her mind occupied, but try as she might she couldn't keep thoughts of Daryl from creeping into her head.

Late in the afternoon, Madison stumbled on a large, heavy crate with a padlock on it; it took all her strength to break the lock off, but the reward was worth it. She laughed as she looked into the crate full of guns and ammunition, the excitement of her discovery driving Daryl from her mind until she found a bundle of crossbow arrows tied together and shoved down at the bottom of the crate. With a sigh she pulled the bolts from the crate and set them aside; she’d give them to Daryl as a peace offering in a few days or talk Glenn into giving them to him, something.

Deciding to focus on her win rather than her loss, she jumped to her feet and ran outside, calling Rick over so she could show him her discovery. She thought Rick was going to cry as she watched relief wash over him as he looked through the crate; she couldn’t fathom the pressure he must be under and was glad to ease his burden even slightly. Together they pulled the crate from the locker and to the center of camp so its contents could be distributed to the group and any extras could be stashed in the cars.

Encouraged by the guns she found, and feeling quite proud of herself, Madison went back to the locker to look through it some more. As her search continued she found candles, matches, a surprisingly well-stocked first aid kit, and a couple of 72 hour survival kits. As she struggled to gather her newly discovered treasures, she speculated that whoever owned this locker must’ve been an emergency preparedness nut; it’s too bad no amount of preparation could’ve saved them from the way the world ended.

Madison made the executive decision to divide these essentials between the cars so they wouldn’t be left behind if the group had to pull up stakes at a moment’s notice. She’d been overly ambitious when loading her arms with everything she found in the locker and slowly made her way from the locker to the cars, being careful not to disturb the delicate balance she’d struck. She was so focused on not dropping everything that she didn’t notice Daryl leaning against the storage lockers on the opposite side of camp, trying not to watch her as she struggled.

When she was a little more than halfway to the cars, she stumbled over a rock which sent everything in her arms tumbling to the ground. She closed her eyes and threw her head back in frustration then she heard a familiar grunt and became aware of Daryl’s presence. She squeezed her eyes tighter as she groaned, of course he would be here for this, she thought as she knelt down to pick everything up.

“Here,” Daryl mumbled as he loaded his arms with the items littering the ground, his proximity making Madison jump; once again he’d moved so quietly she didn’t hear him approach her.

“You don’t have to…” she protested weakly, unable to make eye contact with him.

“I know,” he replied, trying to catch her eye, “Where ya takin’ these? The cars?” She nodded, risking a quick glance at him as she stood and walked towards the cars with him. Without another word Daryl helped her evenly divide the items between the two cars, knowing that was her plan without having to be told; it amazed her how well he knew her, even when he was mad at her. Once they were done and the car doors were closed, they stood staring at the ground, both wanting to say something, but not knowing what to say. Eventually Daryl cleared his throat and said, his voice barely above a whisper, “Heard ‘bout them guns ya found. Good catch.”

Madison raised her gaze and made eye contact with Daryl and gave him a half smile. His eyes weren't cold towards her for the first time in days and it struck her that he was being civil to her; he was being nice to her. Unsure of how to react or what would come out of his mouth next, she dropped her eyes back to the ground and shifted her weight uncomfortably from one leg to another then quietly muttered, too stunned to think of anything else to say, “Thanks.” Her discomfort was making the awkward situation worse, so she wrapped her arms around herself and silently walked away; kicking herself for not being able to have a civil conversation with him.

“Can’t even talk t’me?” he yelled after her, “What’s the matter with ya? Grow the hell up, Madison!” Her pace quickened as he yelled and she shook her head, defeated. His reaction reinforcing the reasons why she couldn’t think of anything to say; it didn’t matter what she said or did lately, it was wrong. She was exhausted from the constant fighting between them and she simply didn’t have the strength to argue with him again.

Daryl rubbed his face as he angrily paced back and forth; he tried being nice, he tried being her friend and she threw his efforts back in his face. Why did he have to yell at her again? He may have taken one tiny step forward by helping her load up the cars, but his temper took him two steps back again.

“What did she do to deserve that?” Hershel asked, slowly making his way towards Daryl.

“Back off ol’ man, this don’t concern ya,” Daryl warned, walking away from the older man.

Hershel shook his head, unwilling to back down, “When you keep yellin’ at her like that in front of me, you make it my concern. Someone has to stand up for her.”

Frustrated, Daryl turned to face Hershel and barked, “She ain’t yers; ya don't gotta defend ‘er.”

“You’re right, Daryl. It should be you,” Daryl waved Hershel’s comment away and turned to leave. “A week ago you would’ve killed anyone who talked to her the way you’ve been talkin’ to her lately.” Hershel’s words stopped Daryl in his tracks; the old man was right. “She wants things to go back to how they were before; she wants you back.”

“Yer wrong,” Daryl protested quietly, not letting himself believe what Hershel was telling him. “She don’t want shi-” with a quick glance at Hershel’s disapproving expression, Daryl changed his wording, “She don’t want nothin’ from me.”

“How do you know? Have you given her a chance to talk? No. She can’t take a breath without you attackin’ her; why would she say anythin’ on the subject when she’s afraid of you and what you’ll say next?”

As Daryl realized how true Hershel’s words were, his temper started to flare in a feeble attempt to mask his guilt. “She’s the one ended it, what else she gonna say?” he hollered, “Don’t talk t’me ‘bout things ya don’t understand!”

“Do you want her back?”

Hershel’s question caught Daryl off guard, “What?”

“Do you want Madison back?” Hershel repeated, continuing on before Daryl could reply, “Because if you do, you have to get that temper of yours under control before you push her too far.”

Daryl glared Hershel; he was done with the conversation. He knew everything the farmer was telling him was true, but it rubbed Daryl the wrong way being told so plainly that he was in the wrong. Feeling cornered, Daryl lashed out at Hershel, taking the frustration he had with himself out on the older man, “Jus’ ‘cause yer s’old ya got one foot in the grave don’t mean ya know everythin’! Stay outta my business an’ shut yer damn mouth!” With that Daryl left, fuming, but unable to block out what Hershel had said. He sighed as he stormed off, realizing he had a choice to make; he could either choose his pride and end up angry and alone like he’d been his entire life, or he could take a chance and try to make things right with Madison and convince her to give him another chance. He knew he wanted her back, he just had no idea how to go about it.

Hershel watched him leave and shook his head at the younger man. He was pleased with himself, pleased to see Daryl riled up. His reaction meant Hershel had achieved his goal; his words had struck a nerve with Daryl and were making him think.

The following morning Madison was up and out of her locker long before sunrise, relieved to see she was the only one awake at that hour. She ran as quickly and quietly as she could to another locker she could sort through; yesterday had given her the perfect balance of the solitude she craved while still contributing to the camp and she was eager for a repeat. Careful not to wake anyone up, she raised the door to the locker and went to work, flashlight in hand.

Daryl spent most of his day separated from the group working out what he was going to say to Madison the next time he saw her; he had a lot to make up for and was at a loss as to where to start. When the sun started setting, he slowly ambled towards the group; nervously rehearsing what he was going to say in his mind. He stopped short and scanned the faces gathered around the fire pit, eating their meager dinner. Madison wasn’t with them and frustration won out as Daryl assumed, correctly, that she was trying to avoid him. “Dammit Madison,” he muttered under his breath, irritated that he’d wasted his day preparing a speech that would never be given and that she seemed to be skipping yet another meal, “Why ya gotta be s’careless?” Turning his attention to who was there, rather than who wasn’t, he stomped towards Maggie and snapped, “Hey! Where’s that stupid bitch ya call a friend?”

Maggie rolled her eyes at him. “I’m not friends with any ‘stupid bitches’ Daryl; but since Madison’s the only one who’s not here, I’m guessin’ you mean her. You’re the one that broke her heart, so why do you care where she is?” Maggie asked, throwing a defensive glare his way.

Maggie’s statement caught Daryl by surprise; Madison was the one who called it quits, how had he broken her heart? Regardless of the answer, he felt terrible for the pain he’d caused her; his remorse plainly visible on his face. He didn’t answer Maggie; he only shrugged and dropped his eyes to the ground. Maggie saw the change in his demeanor and sighed, “If I tell you where she is and you end up hurtin' her worse, I will kill you and make it look like an accident. Got that? She’s in the locker second from the end.” She pointed to the locker and watched Daryl grab a plate and take a few steps in Madison’s direction. Worried that she’d made a mistake telling him where she was, Maggie called after him, “I mean it. If you’re only lookin’ for her to give her hell, just leave her alone. You’ve done enough damage already.” He looked over his shoulder at Maggie and nodded, acknowledging her warning then continued walking.

Daryl stopped outside the locker Madison was sorting and stared at the closed door, debating whether he should knock or walk in unannounced. Deciding it was best to knock, given their current situation, he rapped on the door and raised it up high enough he could slip the plate of food under the door for her.

The knocking caught Madison off guard and she whipped her head around to see who was there, catching a glimpse of hand with a small star tattoo above the thumb, Daryl’s hand, slipping beneath the door. She blinked rapidly, convinced her eyes were playing tricks on her; she only saw the hand for a second, but she’d know it anywhere. Stunned, she sat and stared at the door, trying to tell herself that she was wrong; it wasn’t Daryl, the “tattoo” was nothing more than a shadow, just a trick of the light.

A deep voice cut through the silence in the storage unit, “Madison? That stuff I said…didn’t mean none of it.” Madison gasped, covering her mouth with her hand at Daryl’s voice. He paused and waited for a response from the woman on the other side of the door. When none came he sighed and ran his fingers over the door, coming to terms with the fact that she wouldn’t be able to forgive him. “Anyhow, jus’ thought ya oughta know,” he quietly explained before walking away quickly to take his turn on watch. Feeling both hurt and embarrassed that she blatantly ignored his attempt to reconcile, his temper flared up again. He all but ran away from the locker, needing to get away from her before he said something else to add to his ever growing list of regrets where she was concerned.

“Daryl?” Madison called in a whisper, her voice scratchy and quiet from lack of use after spending the entire day alone in the locker. “Daryl!” she called again, louder now that her voice was cooperating, as she climbed over the pile she’d been sorting through and rushed to the door. Expecting to see Daryl standing on the other side of the door, she threw it open with a smile. She looked from side to side as her smile faded; Daryl was gone. “Come on, Madison. Get a hold of yourself,” she mumbled as she retreated back into the locker and slowly closed the door. Her eyes fell to the plate on the ground; someone had been there, she hadn’t made it up. She heard Daryl, she saw his hand; she wondered where he went as she picked up the plate and carried it back to her work area. Careful not to bump into the precariously stacked items surrounding her, she sat back down and questioned her sanity, she had heard Daryl so clearly, but he wasn’t there; was she really losing her mind that much?

Unenthusiastically, she eyed the mystery meat on her plate; she had no appetite, but knew she had to eat to regain her strength. She set the plate down and stood up again and opened a drawer to the dresser next to her and stared at its contents, unable to bring herself to rummage through it. Leaving it open, she eased to the ground to eat and rest; she'd been working nonstop since before dawn and figured she had earned a short break. After she ate, she set the plate off to the side and leaned against a filing cabinet and found a position just comfortable enough to let her rest, but not so comfortable that she'd fall asleep for hours; which was exactly what happened when mental and physical exhaustion took over once she closed her eyes.

Several hours later, Madison woke in a panic when she heard a large crash come from somewhere inside the locker. Looking around frantically for the source of the crash and her flashlight, she jumped up and smacked her forehead on the corner of the dresser drawer she’d left open. She sank to the floor and gingerly held her hand to her forehead as she waited for the pain to subside. A trickle of blood rolled down her face and she groaned realizing she’d reopened the gash from when she passed out. She finally found her flashlight and searched the unit to make sure nothing had gotten in; finding nothing out of the ordinary she determined that she must have kicked over the pile of junk she’d been looking through in her sleep. She scoffed at herself as she dug through the dresser and found a tie and a few handkerchiefs to use as makeshift bandages for her bleeding head.

She stepped out of the locker, intending to look for Hershel for help until she realized how late it was. Camp was deserted and everyone was asleep, with one exception; Daryl. She watched him warming his hands by the fire and guessed he must have just gotten off watch. He was the last person she wanted to ask for help, but she couldn’t justify waking up Hershel over this, or anyone else for that matter. She took a deep breath and apprehensively approached Daryl, speaking in little more than a whisper when she reached him, “I know you’re sick of taking care of me, but I need your help.”

“Y’ve made it pretty damn clear ya wan’ nothin’ t’do with me, why should I help ya?” Daryl snarled, still angry with her for ignoring him when he tried to make peace earlier.

“Because I thought...never mind. I’ll go wake up Hershel,” she answered, rolling her eyes as she turned to go; more sure than ever that she’d made up his visit earlier that evening.

Daryl’s head snapped up at the mention of the camp doctor’s name. “Wh’ya need Hershel?” he asked, looking at her for the first time since she walked over to him, “Yer bleedin’! Get yer ass back here.”

“I thought you weren’t going to help me,” Madison questioned him, her voice cold.

“That was b’fore I knew ya was hurt. Sit down,” he barked.

Madison did as she was told with a huff, refusing to make eye contact with him as she held out the tie and handkerchiefs she brought. “We don’t have gauze,” she explained, seeing his quizzical expression from the corner of her eye.

Without a word, Daryl stood up and strode over to the cars with a grunt and came back carrying the first aid kit she’d found the previous day, holding it up to her as he got closer. “Gauze,” he pointed out, throwing the dirty rags in her hands to the ground and putting the first aid kit in their place while he searched for the bandages. When he found what he was looking for, he took the first aid kit from her and gave her the gauze and bandages to hold for him as he worked. “Ya trus’ me t’do yer bandage fer ya?” he asked, his tone indiscernible; a mix between bitterness and curiosity.

Madison felt like she was on the defense around Daryl and only picked up on the bitterness behind his question and snidely answered, “Well, I guess you did manage to keep yourself from bleeding out after ripping an arrow through your side, so I think you can manage this.”

Daryl glared at her and roughly took the gauze from her hands and she grimaced, preparing for the same rough treatment as he tended to her wound, but was surprised by how gentle he was with her. The tenderness of his touch was counteracted by the gruffness in his voice as he replied, “If a dumb bitch like ya could do this fer me, how hard can it be?”

“You don’t have to be such a jerk about it. I’ll just take care of it myself,” she fumed as she stood to leave.

“Don’t be stupid, I’m sorry, ‘lright? Sit yer butt down,” he insisted, pushing her back down next to him.

An awkward silence fell between them, their proximity turning their thoughts to when they were together. Madison inhaled deeply before speaking, breaking the silence, “I stand by my decision to help Lori,” Daryl scoffed and rolled his eyes, but she pressed on, “but I am sorry for lying to you. I wasn’t trying to hurt you or sneak around behind your back...I just, I just didn’t want you to worry about me.” She sighed and glanced at Daryl, surprised to find him looking her in the eye, even if it was skeptically, “This whole mess...us...it’s my fault. I’m so sorry.”

The anger and pain of the past few days melted away with Madison’s apology and Daryl gave her a small, lopsided smile in way of acknowledgement as he softly asked her what happened to her head. She didn’t answer and dropped her eyes, focusing on her hands. “Fine, don’t tell me,” Daryl growled, frustrated that she was still holding back even after apologizing, “Ferget I asked.”

His movements got rough again as his frustration mounted and Madison slapped his hands away. “Ow!” she exclaimed, staring at him. She continued with a sigh, “I didn’t answer because it’s embarrassing, okay? I don’t want you laughing at me.”

“If I promise not t’laugh, will ya tell me?” he asked, a hint of the twinkle he used to get in his eyes when he teased her making an appearance.

Madison gave him a sidelong glance as she decided whether or not she wanted to go down this road with him, the familiarity between them coming to the surface and scaring her a little. Looking him in the eye she gave in, “I dozed off in the locker I was working in and heard a noise. It scared me and I jumped up and smacked my head on a dresser drawer.”

“That ain’t s’bad,” he replied, fighting to hold back a smile, “What was the noise?” She didn’t respond right away; she was miles away lost in her own thoughts as she asked herself why he was asking these questions and why he cared. “Madison…?” he prodded her.

She closed her eyes and scrunched her face, bracing for his response, as she answered, “I kicked some stuff over in my sleep.” Daryl paused for a moment before laughing louder and harder than she’d heard him in ages, even before their break up; it would’ve been a wonderful sound if it wasn’t at her expense. She tried to look annoyed with him, but soon was laughing just as hard. “Shut up! You said you weren’t going to laugh at me!” she whined, playfully elbowing him.

“Wasn’t expectin’ that is all; thought ya’d say there was a mouse in there with ya or somethin’,” he chuckled, finishing wrapping her head and tucking in the loose end of the bandage. “All done,” he whispered, his deep voice low and raspy as he looked at her smiling face. Habit took over as he gently ran his hand down the side of her face; forgetting their bitter break up and the anger and hurt he’d felt. All he could think of was how much he missed her and how desperately he wanted her back.

Madison closed her eyes at his tender touch and leaned into his hand, wishing they could go back to the way it was before. Tears started to sting her eyes as she reminded herself that he was with Carol now and she’d missed her chance with him. Being this close to him, knowing they couldn’t be together was torture for her. “I can’t do this,” she mumbled as she scrambled to her feet and moved away from Daryl.

“Can’t do what? Dammit woman, talk to me!” Daryl shouted, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her to him.

“Daryl, let me go,” she begged.

Taking hold of her other arm with his free hand he looked in her eyes, searching for answers, “No. Why’re ya runnin’ away?”

Madison fought against Daryl’s strong grip as tears rolled down her cheeks, “Let me go. Daryl, please! I-I can’t be here. Just let me go!”

“Not ‘til ya tell me what that means!” he implored, tightening his grip on her and pulling her closer. He knew they were at a fork in the road; if he let her go now it would be over for good and he wasn’t going to let that happen.

“I just can’t be here!” she blurted through her tears. “I can’t be here with you, like this. I’m still in love with you, Daryl, and this is killing me! I didn’t mean what I said that night, I was just pissed off. And you were supposed to fight for us, but you walked away! So please, just let me go!” She struggled to pull away from him, now embarrassed by her emotional display on top of everything else.

Before Madison knew what was happening, Daryl closed the remaining few inches between them and kissed her passionately, trying to tell her though action what his words were failing to say; that he loved her and wanted her back more than anything. He let go of her arms and moved his hands to her back, drawing her closer to him, baring his heart and soul to her though a kiss.

Madison ran her hands across his chest until she found the collar to his jacket and pulled him to her. Aching to be near him again she slid her left hand to his neck and ran her fingers through his hair, holding on to him as though her life depended on it. For a moment time stood still as Madison got lost in the fire of Daryl’s touch and the desperation behind the kiss. “Daryl,” she purred, the sound of her own voice breaking the spell she’d been under as the reality of their situation crashed down on top of her; they weren’t together anymore, this man kissing her turned his back on her and walked away, he was with someone else.

She pulled away from Daryl sharply, breaking the kiss and glaring at him. “Who do you think you are?” Madison cried. She raised her hand to slap him, but his cat-like reflexes kicked in and he caught her by the wrist before she made contact and held her firmly. “How dare you! You say you’re done and then you kiss me? Stop messing with my head and let me go,” she seethed, fighting to break Daryl’s hold on her wrist.

“Said I was done, not that I stopped lovin’ ya!” he yelled, cupping her face with his free hand, forcing her to look at him.

Astonished, she stopped struggling to get away from him and asked, “What does that mean?”

“Whatever ya wan’ it t’mean,” Daryl answered simply.

“Whatever I want?” she echoed, “I want you, you idiot!”

“‘lright.”

“‘All right?’ Just like that?”

Daryl looked into her questioning, brown eyes and gently took her hands and held them to his chest. “I was a dick an’ I ran my dumbass mouth without thinkin’...”

“A lot,” Madison interjected.

He shook his head at himself and gave her a sad half smile, “A lot. I was jus’ s’damn scared when ya… Said y’was safe with me an’ I broke that promise. Maddie, I wanna make it right.”

Her breath hitched and her mind raced as she stammered, “Daryl, I don’t, I don't know...you and-and Carol…”

“That was nothin’,” he insisted, begging her to believe him. “We was talkin’, that’s all. Ya really think me an’ ‘er…?”

She nodded, “You never denied it and I know she’s wanted that for a long time now, so I thought...”

“I wanted ya jealous,” he whispered, his eyes falling to the ground, “I ain’t proud; I wanted t’hurt ya like ya hurt me.” He looked at Madison’s face, trying to read her expression, “There's never been anythin’ there with 'er.”

“But...but you quit, you just walked away-”

“Almost quit,” he cut her off so he could plead his case, “but I’m here now an’ I’m fightin’ fer ya. Fergive me, Maddie. Give me ‘nother chance.”

Madison paused, her mind reeling as she tried to process what he was telling her. Everything she wanted was being offered to her and yet she was hesitating and she didn’t know why. She wanted him back desperately, but her old insecurities were surfacing and she found herself doubting if she could trust him with her heart again.

Daryl had never begged for anything in his life, but he’d never needed anything before like he needed her; so he fought the urge to yell at her, swallowed his pride and frustration and asked her again, his blue eyes piercing her soul, “Please Maddie.”

The quiet pleading in his voice and the sincerity in his eyes put Madison’s doubts to rest and she nodded, unable to speak through her tears. She wrapped her arms around him and cried against his shoulder, whispering once she gained control of her voice, “Almost doesn’t count.” Joy and relief washed over Daryl and he returned her embrace, holding her to him tightly, never wanting to let her go.

She leaned back and looked up at him, softly touching his face and marveling at the warmth and adoration that had returned to his eyes; something she never thought she’d see again. “I missed you, Dixon,” she breathed then stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his, illustrating her words with a fervent kiss.

Breathless, they reluctantly tore apart. “Madison,” Daryl’s husky voiced caressed her name as he spoke, sending shockwaves through her from head to toe. He traced her lip with his thumb and she melted into his arms. A faint smile played at the corners of his mouth as he leaned closer, teasing her by keeping his lips just out of reach, as he whispered, “Couldn’t even make it three days without me, huh?” His eyes sparkled at her dumbfounded expression as it morphed from shock to bewilderment to annoyance; he’d missed riling her up and getting a reaction out of her for fun. Narrowly escaping a punch to the arm, he darted to an old lawn bench pulled from one of the lockers and took a seat by the fire, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

She tried to keep her face looking upset, but couldn’t help but laugh at him as she sat beside him; she’d missed laughing with Daryl and took pleasure knowing that she was still the only one that could bring out this side of him. “Don’t make me change my mind, cocky jerk,” she teased. “You always did know how to kill a mood.”

“Missed ya too,” he chuckled, placing his right arm around her and pulling her to him then kissing the top of her head.

She heaved a contented sigh as she relaxed in his arms, half convinced that this was all a dream and she was going to wake up any second. Enjoying the moment she absentmindedly traced the star tattoo on the back of Daryl’s right hand, her mind wandering back to his visit at the locker. “Did you bring me food earlier?” she asked quietly, curious to know once and for all if she was losing her mind, but also slightly afraid of bringing up their time apart and how he’d react to that.

“Yeah. Tried t’play nice, but ya ignored me.”

A smile crept across Madison’s face; she hadn’t imagined it. “I didn’t ignore you,” she insisted looking up at him, "I just didn’t think it was really you. I looked for you and you were gone.” Her attention returned to his tattoo, “But I saw this when you slid the plate under the door...I was convinced I’d imagined it. All this time and I’ve never asked the story behind it.”

Daryl looked down and opened and closed his fist a few times as he studied the tattoo he was so used to seeing he didn’t even notice anymore, amused by Madison’s sudden fascination with it. “Ain’t no story; don’t mean nothin’. I was young an’ bored an' gave it t’myself one night when m’dad was off on a bender an’ Merle was in juvie.”

“What? Are you crazy? Didn’t that hurt?” Madison asked, glancing at him.

He shrugged, “Maybe a lil’...I was pretty wasted at the time, don’t remember much.”

She shook her head at him and chuckled, “Why a star?”

“Easy ‘nough I could do it drunk an’ left-handed.”

“You’re insane,” she murmured, taking his hand and kissing his tattoo.

Eyebrow raised, Daryl turned her face towards his. “Could give ya one,” he stated, “jus’ need some ink from a pen or somethin’ and a sharp needle…”

“What? No!” she gasped, sitting up and pushing him.

“C’mon Maddie, jus’ a lil’ flower on yer wrist,” he suggested, taking hold of her hand and pressing his lips to the inside of her wrist. “Maybe a dragonfly on yer shoulder?” he asked as he moved the fabric of her sweater out of the way and kissed her shoulder.

Madison looked at him defiantly, trying to hide how much she was enjoying the conversation, “Not going to happen, sorry.”

“How ‘bout m’name on yer neck?” Daryl whispered, lightly kissing the nape of her neck. “That’d be damn sexy,” he murmured against her skin, giving her goosebumps and making her blush.

“Daryl, you’ve got to stop that before I lose my mind and say yes,” she exhaled.

Her warning brought a mischievous gleam to his eye and he flashed a devilish grin, “Can’t stop now that ya’ve made it a challenge.”

“Oh shoot,” Madison exclaimed sarcastically, “I did not think this through.” She leaned in to kiss Daryl with a smile, still amazed that they were back together; it didn’t seem real. She broke the kiss and looked in his beautiful blue eyes; there was no resentment or bitterness hidden in his gaze, it was as if the past few days hadn’t happened.

“What?” Daryl asked softly.

Madison shook her head, “Nothing. I just never thought I’d be this happy again.”

He touched her cheek and with a lopsided grin replied, “Me neither.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for it being so long between updates! Not that you want to know the details of my personal life, but since the last update I've moved (and been without internet for over a week) and I have a family member in the hospital recovering from surgery (again), which means I'm back helping them post-op (again) and hoping it will give me more time to write. After last time I'm sure it won't give me the time to write I'm hoping for, but what fun is life without a few harmless optimistic delusions? Thank you again to everyone who is sticking with me and reading this; this story has been so fun to write and it's so gratifying to know you are enjoying it. As always, I only own Madison.

Not even the persistent pounding in her head could wipe the smile from Madison’s face as she woke up the next morning knowing she and Daryl had reconciled. She grinned like a schoolgirl remembering the feel of his arms around her and the force of his kiss. Expecting to wake up next to him by the fire, she opened her eyes searching for his sleeping face. She sat upright and blinked quickly as she tried to make sense of her surroundings; she was back in her storage unit on the sofa with a blanket covering her. With a groan she stood and looked around the unit for clues of how she got there. The last thing she remembered was being with Daryl next to the fire as they made up. The pounding in her head reminded her how hard she hit her head on the drawer and she started wondering if she’d blacked out again and her night with Daryl was nothing more than a dream. She held her hand to her head and felt the bandage he wrapped around her head the night before, exhaling with relief; she hadn’t made it up.

She opened the door to her unit and braced herself against the bitter cold of early morning. As cold as it was, Madison knew it would warm up by midday; there was something different in the air and she was certain it meant winter was coming to an end. Glancing towards the center of camp she saw Daryl crouched down loading bolts in his crossbow. Watching him reminded her of the arrows she found the other day and she rushed back into her locker to grab them. Bolts in hand she approached him, her stomach twisting in knots as her nerves and insecurities got the better of her; clearly she hadn’t made up what happened last night, but something must have changed his mind since he didn’t stay with her. Was Daryl drunk last night and he ran once he sobered up? She didn’t remember smelling alcohol on him; and while she hadn’t seen any in camp that didn’t mean he couldn’t have found some booze in an abandoned cabin while hunting. Did he see getting back together as a mistake? She timidly stood next to him. Unsure of what to say and, bracing herself for the venom sure to pour from his mouth, nudged his arm gently and whispered, “Morning.”

“There y'are Buster,” Daryl greeted her with a smirk, “’bout time ya got yer ass outta bed.”

Madison instantly relaxed when she heard him call her by her nickname, all of her anxiety from moments ago forgotten. Last night wasn’t a mistake made by two heartbroken people; they were okay, in fact the look in his eyes told her they were better than okay. She fidgeted as she pondered her remaining questions: how did she get from the fire to the locker and why didn’t he stay with her? Trying to push them from her mind she joked, “What do you mean ‘about time’? I’m the second person up!”

“But y’ain’t the first,” he quipped, taking the time to glance up at her and noticing her uneasy body language. He slowly stood as he eyed her carefully, trying to read her, worried she was trying to figure out how to tell him she’d changed her mind and couldn’t forgive him. “Ya look like ya got somethin’ on yer mind; what’s goin’ on?” Daryl asked apprehensively, picking up on her residual nervous energy.

His question cut through her musings, bringing her back to the present. “No, it’s nothing. Just…how did I get to my locker? Last I remember was being with you by the fire…”

He chuckled, relieved that this was all that was troubling her, “Ya fell asleep. Seems ya got tuckered out somehow,” he gave her a mischievous smirk, enjoying making her squirm as he teased her about their make out session the night before, “s’I carried ya t’yer locker.”

“You didn’t stay?” she asked, confusion and disappointment easily heard in her voice as she glanced down and fiddled with the bolts in her hands.

Daryl focused his attention on his bow, unable to look at Madison. With a sigh he shook his head and answered quietly, “Nah. After what I said, calling ya...what I did, I thought you’d take it wrong if I stayed. Like I was expectin’ somethin’.”

“I would never think that,” she insisted. A soft smile played at the corner of her mouth; she was touched by how sincerely he regretted what happened between them and how much he wanted to make things right, but she ached for him, seeing how badly he was beating himself up over what he’d said. “Hey, look at me,” she said, placing her hand on his forearm and waiting for him to meet her gaze before continuing, “You’re not the only one who wishes they could take back what they said, okay? You've forgiven me for all the stupid crap I said and I’ve forgiven you; now you need to forgive yourself. Please.”

He glanced at her and nodded, his jaw tight; forgiving himself would be easier said than done. “Whatcha got there?” he asked, abruptly changing the subject and pointing to the bundle in her hands.

“I found these the other day,” she explained, handing the bolts to him, “I was going to have Glenn give them to you, but now that we’re on speaking terms again...”

“C’mon, I’d say we’re on more than jus’ speakin’ terms after las’ night,” Daryl teased, raising an eyebrow at Madison; thoroughly entertained by how easily he could make her blush. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, lowering his husky voice, “Ain’t never made out like that with no one b’fore; m’lips're raw.”

Madison’s blush deepened as his breath tickled her skin sending a tingle down her spine. “Stop it,” she mumbled in a breathless whisper, looking around to see if anyone was within earshot before turning back to Daryl and seeing the self-satisfied grin on his face. "Didn’t hear you complaining last night," she shot back with a smile, realizing the game he was playing and not wanting to let him win so easily.

"An' I still ain't," he replied with a smirk before kissing her cheek and turning his attention to the bolts she gave him, “These’re firs’ class, thanks. Reminds me, got somethin’ of yers.” She gave him a confused look as he set his crossbow and arrows down and dug in his jacket pocket and pulled out her leather bracelet.

Her hands flew to her face and she quietly laughed, “You kept it?”

“‘Course. Gimme yer arm,” he instructed. She eagerly held out her left arm and watched him snap the cuff into place, unable to hold back a large smile. A lopsided grin covered his face seeing the bracelet back where it belonged and he gently took her hand in his. “Like it never happened,” he whispered, looking deeply into her eyes.

“Like it never happened,” she echoed, kissing him softly.

By now camp was starting to come alive and Daryl shyly broke eye contact and dropped her hand. He cleared his throat before asking, “S’did ya see a quiver or anythin’ like that when ya found these?”

A bemused sigh escaped Madison’s lips. She hadn’t given any thought to how or when they were going to let the group know they were back together, but she hadn’t expected Daryl to revert back to his shy, awkward self; although she told herself she shouldn’t be surprised. She shook her head and replied, “I didn’t notice one, but I wasn’t really looking so I might’ve just missed it.”

“Didn’t see one in the crate; a guy with bolts this nice musta had somethin’. What locker ya find ‘em in?”

“That one down there with the door mostly closed. Come on, I’ll show you.” Daryl fell into step beside Madison as they made their way to the unit, opening the door for her before ducking into the unit himself. Several minutes passed in silence as they searched the locker. Madison peaked over her shoulder at the man at the other side of the tiny space; she knew things were back to normal between them, but she still worried about saying the wrong thing and damaging the delicate relationship they were trying to repair. “Do you want some company while you’re out?” she tenuously offered.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!” Daryl exclaimed, turning around triumphantly and holding up a quiver to show her, obviously not hearing her question. “Knew it hadda be ‘ere somewhere. Needs a strap, but ain’t in bad shape otherwise,” he continued as he examined his find. When Madison didn’t comment, his eyes darted to hers and he saw the expectant look on her face, “D’ya ask me somethin’?”

“Do you want some company while you’re out?” she repeated herself, shaking her head and smiling at his enthusiasm over the quiver.

“Maybe next time,” he answered as he climbed over piles of junk and made his way to the door.

Madison inhaled sharply and hung her head; she should’ve kept her mouth shut, clearly he was still mad at her. “Oh, okay,” she mumbled, faking a smile.

Although she tried to mask it with a smile, Daryl saw the hurt in her eyes. Knowing her well enough to know exactly the direction her mind went he turned and moved over to her. Placing his hand under her chin, he lifted her face so her eyes met his, “Ain’t like that, ‘lright? Jus’ wan’ya t’wait ‘til yer stronger so nothin’ happens t’ya again.” A genuine smile replaced the fake one on her lips as she relaxed at his words and she silently chastised herself for worrying so easily. Movement outside the locker caught her attention and she turned her head to see who was there. Daryl’s gaze landed on the small, red mark forming on the side of her graceful, exposed neck. It was a primal response, but he loved seeing the mark he left on Madison’s skin, claiming this beautiful woman has his. He lightly grazed the sensitive skin with his fingertips and a suggestive smile spread across his face, “Might wanna cover that up, Maddie.”

Madison gasped; partly from what Daryl said, but mostly from his unexpected touch. Her hand flew to her neck and her cheeks turned bright red. “What? Are you serious?” she asked with a giggle, feeling like a teenager again. “Is it that obvious? Do I need to find a scarf or something?”

“That’s yer call,” he answered with a shrug, “‘course since yer askin’, I like it; looks good on ya.”

“You think so, huh? All right then; no scarf,” she murmured as she moved her hand, the desire in Daryl’s expression as he fought the urge to attack her mouth with his making her weak in the knees. Instead, and much to her disappointment, he gently took her hand in his and led her out of the locker, a lopsided smile on his face as he reveled in the knowledge that Madison wasn’t ashamed to let the others know they were together again, even after everything he’d said and done over the past several days.

The bright light outside the locker momentarily blinded Madison as they left the unit. She held her free hand up to block the sun’s rays and noticed Carol watching them from a few lockers down, anger written all over her face. Jealousy overtook Madison as she stopped Daryl from moving forward, brought her hand to the back of his neck, and pulled his face to hers and gave him a firm kiss; she wasn't proud of the way she rubbed her renewed relationship with Daryl in Carol's face, but she couldn't control the urge to protect what was hers. “Be safe out there, okay?” she breathed when she pulled away, playing with his hair.

Curious to see who, if anyone, was watching them, Daryl looked around and saw Carol trying to act as though she hadn't been staring at them. He then looked back to Madison with his face scrunched up in disbelief, “Was that ‘cause of Carol?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she insisted, giving him her best innocent expression and batting her eyelashes at him, “I just want you to be safe.”

“Right, that’s it,” he chuckled with a shake of his head before squeezing her hand and sauntering away, glancing back at her once more before she was out of view.

Madison watched Daryl leave, awestruck by the drastic changes the past twelve hours had brought about. Before anyone tried to talk to her, she rushed back to finish sorting the locker she was working on when she hit her head; the locker had been a bust so far, but it was better than facing questions she didn't know the answers to. She didn't care if the group knew she and Daryl were back together, she wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but he had always been so private about their relationship and she didn't want to say anything until they had had a chance to decide how they wanted to handle the situation. He didn't want her to cover up the hickey on her neck, she reminded herself, so chances were that he was okay with it being out in the open, but that was a risk she wasn't willing to take. Waiting to talk to him was best she decided.

"Hey. You doin' okay?" Madison jumped at the unexpected sound of Maggie's voice at the door.

“Maggie! You scared me to death! Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Madison asked, pausing from her work to glance at her friend.

Maggie shook her head with an unconvinced expression on her face and stepped into the locker, “I saw Daryl leave and then you ran in here so I know somethin’s up. I told him yesterday to stay away from you if he was gonna keep bein' an ass.”

“He wasn’t, don’t worry. Everything’s fine,” Madison muttered with a quick smile before dropping her gaze, uncomfortable with keeping Maggie in the dark, especially the more worked up she got.

“I find that hard to believe,” Maggie replied, her voice cold, mistaking Madison’s discomfort as proof that Daryl had crossed the line again. “He’s been takin’ his frustration out on the group and treatin’ us all like…is that a hickey?” she gasped, interrupting her own train of thought and gawking at Madison.

Madison’s head snapped up and her eyes went wide as her mind raced for a plausible explanation before she decided there was no point in trying to lie, “I’ll be honest, because it’s you; yes.”

“How old are you, 14? Don’t tell me you took T-Dog up on his offer! Madison, what were you thinking?”

“What? No!” Madison scrambled to her feet and climbed over the piles surrounding her. Glancing outside the locker to make sure they were alone, she motioned Maggie over and lowered her voice, “Of course not! I’m not insane; nothing against T, but no! All right, look. I needed help bandaging my head last night-“

“What happened, are you okay?”

Madison chuckled, “Yeah, I’m fine. I smacked my head on that stupid dresser back there, but that’s not the point of my story! Anyway, Daryl was the only one awake so he helped me and we started talking and we decided to give us another chance.”

“Doesn’t look like you two did much talkin’,” Maggie teased with a smirk.

“We talked enough,” Madison insisted with a coy smile.

A few moments passed in silence then Maggie spoke, “I have to ask; does he deserve a second chance? Some of the things he said...” She let her sentence fade and shook her head; she didn't know much, but she knew enough about Madison's past and didn't want to see her fall into another bad relationship.

Without hesitation, Madison met Maggie’s concerned gaze and nodded, “Yeah, yeah he does. And I'm not the innocent victim here, I crossed some lines too. We both deserve a second chance.”

“If you're sure, I'm happy for you. I'm also less confused about why Carol was pouting’ earlier."

Madison opened her mouth to respond, but stopped short when Daryl's voice rang through camp, "Rick! Gotta talk t'ya!"

The color drained from Madison's face and, eyes wide, she glanced at the confused girl standing next to her. "He went hunting, that should've taken him hours," she explained, "He shouldn't be back yet. Something's wrong." Without waiting for Maggie's response, Madison rushed out of the locker to find out what was going on with Maggie not far behind. "Daryl!" she called, her blood running cold when she saw the worry in his eyes. "What's happened? What's going on?"

"Where the hell's Rick? I needa talk t'im; it's important," he shouted, pacing like a madman, too worked up to answer Madison’s questions.

The others started gathering around Daryl, drawn in by his yelling and frantic behavior. “No one’s seen him since early this morning. I think he’s checking the fences,” Glenn interjected.

"Why?" Lori asked nervously, “Is something wrong?”

"Just take a minute and breathe; we'll find Rick. It will be okay," Carol soothed as she took a small step towards Daryl who waved her away.

Madison rolled her eyes at Carol. The slightly older woman didn't seem to grasp that something serious was going on; Madison didn't know what had Daryl riled up, but now obviously wasn't the time to take a break and relax. "Forget Rick," she urged, catching Daryl by the arm and making him look at her. "If something serious is going on, tell us what to do and we'll do it. You don't have to wait for Rick."

Daryl met Madison’s gaze and chewed on the tip of his thumb as he digested her words. "Walkers're headin' this way," he confessed quietly, silently asking her what he should do to keep everyone safe. He wasn’t prepared to make life and death decisions for the group without Rick’s approval and didn’t trust himself to make the right call. Over the course of the winter he felt like he and Rick had been disagreeing more and more and he was starting to second guess his opinions and his role in the group.  

Madison saw the self-doubt in Daryl’s eyes and gave him a soft, supportive smile. “You can do this,” she whispered, squeezing his arm to let him know she believed in him, “What is your gut telling you?”

After taking a moment to look at the situation rationally and deciding to listen to Madison and trust his instincts, Daryl finally concluded, "We can't stay much longer.”

Madison did her best to keep her expression neutral. They'd been lucky to stay here as long as they had; deep down she knew they'd have to move again, she'd just hoped they had more time. "Okay. How long do we have? Do we have time to gather our things or do we need to pull up stakes immediately?"

"Whoa, whoa. Who said anythin’ about pullin’ up stakes? What's goin' on?" Rick asked as he approached the group, catching the end of Madison's comment.

“It’s slow, but there’s a group of walkers headin’ right fer us,” Daryl answered, turning to face Rick, “Saw ‘em when I went out t’hunt.”

Rick ran his hand over his face as he processed the news and groaned, “How many?”

“Dunno,” Daryl shrugged, “Maybe fifty.”

“How far away were they? How long do we have?” Hershel asked, gripping the handle of the piston at his hip, preparing for whatever came next.

“They’re ‘bout five miles from camp. That gives us a lil’ time t’get our shit in the cars,” Daryl replied, anxiously adjusting his grip on his bow.

Panic stricken, Carol shouted, “Forget grabbing our stuff; we need to leave! Now!”

“No we don’t,” Rick countered, straining to keep his voice calm. “Daryl’s right, we’ve got time; let’s not waste it. We’ve found too much here to just leave it behind. We’re going to load up what we need before we lose the light. Then tonight we’re all sleepin’ in the lockers; no fires, no watch, no exceptions.” Rick paused and glanced from person to person, waiting for someone to argue with him; when no arguments arose he continued, “Even if they reach us before we leave in the morning, with everyone safely inside these units, they’ll move on. We’ll leave at first light. Daryl, what direction are they comin’ from?”

“North.”

"All right, that's the direction we head tomorrow mornin'," Rick announced, glancing to Daryl to gauge his response. Daryl paused for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

Glenn whipped his head back and forth between Rick and Daryl, certain he’d heard wrong, “You’re joking, right? You want us to go towards them?”

“By goin’ the way they came from, we can guarantee that we won’t cross paths with them again; they won’t be on our tail for the rest of the winter,” Rick explained.

“Until they turn around and follow us,” Maggie mumbled and folded her arms, glaring at Rick, unconvinced by his logic.

Hershel put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder, “They won’t follow us.”

“That’s why we’re staying the night in the lockers, right?” Madison piped up; trying to make sure she understood the plan and hoping to put everyone else’s minds at ease. “They’ll pass us by in the night and then we can sneak off without them hearing us in the morning? Sounds like it could work.” Daryl met her questioning gaze and nodded; grateful to her for speaking up and defending the plan.

“Let’s get to work,” Rick ordered. “We don’t know how long we have, so no more talk; let’s get goin’.” He turned to leave and stopped short, spinning around to face the group once again, “We need a look-out until we get inside tonight; Madison, you okay doin’ that for us?”

Ever since she passed out the group had taken it easy on Madison and not given her any real responsibility; even when she volunteered to take watch two nights back they sent someone to relieve her after less than an hour. Startled by Rick’s request, she sputtered out a reply, “Oh, uh-yeah. I can do that. They’re coming from the north?”

“Yeah. Ya sure ya got it?” Daryl asked, nudging her arm; her hesitation making him uneasy. His eyes darted up to the bandage around her head and he wondered if sending her off on her own with a head injury was the best idea. She caught his eye and gave him a reassuring smile and nodded in response to his question, not wanting to get into a discussion right now. Unconvinced, he narrowed his eyes at Madison before turning to Carl, "Ya wanna take watch instead? Maddie knows what's in the units, we need 'er here."

Before running off to take his place on watch, Carl beamed up at Daryl, "Yeah? Really? Cool!"

Daryl shook his head at the young boy's enthusiasm and glanced at Madison, expecting to see her just as entertained as he was. His face fell when he saw her staring daggers at him, her face hard and cold. Confused, he gave her a questioning look and she huffed and stormed away from him, joining the rest of the group in packing up the vehicles. Daryl watched her walk away, dumbfounded, as he tried to figure out what he did wrong, drawing a blank. With a defeated sigh, he jogged over to her. "Well that didn't last long, s'we're fightin' again? Mind fillin' me in?" he asked as he bent down and grabbed some of the blankets Madison was trying to pick up.

Madison glared at him smacked the blankets out of his arms; she knew she was acting childish, but she was too fed up with his thinking she was incompetent to care. "You really don't think I can do anything, do you?"

"What're ya talkin' 'bout? Where'd this come from?" Daryl asked, bewilderment and frustration in his eyes.

"Rick trusts me to take watch, why don't you? When did you start thinking I was completely useless, huh?"

"I don't," he growled, taking a step closer to her, "Don't ya be tellin' me shit 'bout what I do'r don't think! Rick don't know ya cracked yer head open again last night, I do. I'm worried 'bout ya, dammit; I wanna keep an eye on ya. E'erythin' I say don't gotta mean somethin'; gimme some credit and get the hell off my back!"

Madison dropped her eyes to the blankets on the ground, ashamed for overreacting. She picked them up and held them out to Daryl. "Here," she whispered sheepishly, "I'm sorry." Glaring at her, he roughly took the blankets from her arms and grunted at her apology before carrying them over to the cars. Madison hung her head and sighed, she had to get a grip before she screwed things up with him again.

"Honeymoon over so soon?" Carol asked, carrying a load of supplies past Madison, her lips curled in a smug smirk.

"Bite me, Carol," Madison mumbled under her breath, quietly enough so Carol couldn't hear, and then went back to work. The group loaded the cars quickly and quietly, anxious to get the task done as soon as possible and jumping at every little noise. Madison had a nagging feeling that something wasn't right so she grabbed the first person she could find, Beth, and walked around the back end of the storage units to make sure nothing was wrong.

"Where ya two goin'?" Daryl asked, catching a glimpse of Madison as she walked by.

She looked over her shoulder at him and quietly replied, "We're just checking out the back to make sure everything's fine; we won't go far." Daryl simply nodded and went back to what he was doing. Madison watched him for a second, chewing on her bottom lip as she tried  to decide if his reaction meant he was trying to show he trusted her or if he was still mad at her.

Beth nudged Madison, pulling her from her thoughts. "Come on; the sooner we check the sooner we can get back and help." Madison nodded and started moving forward again. "Why are we even checkin' back here?" Beth asked as they neared the end of the row of storage units.

"It's hard to describe; have you ever just had a feeling that something was wrong gnawing at the back of your mind, even though you know everything is fine, and the only way to get your mind to shut up about it is to go and see for yourself that everything is, in fact, fine?"

"Sure, I guess."

Madison shook her head and chuckled quietly, knowing she had completely confused the poor girl next to her, "It's just one of those situations. Thank you for coming and humoring the crazy woman."

"Crazy’s the nice way of sayin' it, but you're welcome," Beth laughed as she turned to face Madison, walking backwards around the corner of the last locker. She froze in her tracks when she bumped into something and the all too familiar growling reached her ears. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she jumped away from the walker she ran into and Madison lunged forward, knife in hand, and took the monster down. Madison guided Beth behind her as her eyes scanned the scene before them, backing away; forty or so walkers had made it into the enclosed space surrounding the lockers and were advancing on the two of them. "What happened? How did they get in here?" Beth asked, hurling questions at Madison in a panic, "Daryl said we had time; said they were slow!"

"It's warmer today, they must be speeding up again," Madison responded, eyes darting wildly as she searched for how they got in. "They tore down that fence Rick and Glenn fixed the other day. We need to warn the others; move!" The walkers were becoming more and more animated as the promise of a nearby meal rejuvenated them and they followed Madison and Beth closely as they ran back to the group. "Walkers! Everybody get in the lockers now!" she yelled to the others as they got closer. The group was slow to respond, believing they had more time. A few walkers trickled in closely behind Beth and Madison, but moments later the camp was swarmed as the rest of the herd followed.

Camp erupted into chaos as everyone broke off in different directions trying to find a way to keep everyone safe. Lori and Carol ran to find Carl while Rick shouted orders and tried to direct the pandemonium around him. Madison looked behind her and saw how close the advancing horde was getting. Looking forward again she saw Maggie and Glenn rushing towards them; thinking only of keeping Beth out of harm's way, she shoved her forward into her sister's arms before whipping around and taking out the nearest walker. Suddenly a strong hand grabbed her upper arm and pulled her back; startled she screamed as she tried to break free. She twisted around the best could to attack whatever had hold of her, determined not to go down without a fight, and was met by a pair of familiar blue eyes staring at her. "Ease up, Maddie! It's me!" Daryl said, just barely catching her arm before she stabbed him with her knife. "We gotta get outta here, c'mon!" he yelled so she could hear him over the madness as he pulled her backwards again.

Instinct took over and Madison swung around so she was back to back with Daryl as they backed up, fighting their way to safety. Too much was happening too fast and she couldn’t keep track of who was where anymore; all she was aware of was even though she and Daryl were surrounded, walkers were still moving past them and towards the rest of the group. Daryl let out an overwhelmed yell and Madison whipped around and saw him taking on three walkers at once with another coming at him from the side he didn’t seem aware of. She broke formation and rammed her knife into the monster coming at Daryl’s side that was just inches away from taking a bite out of his shoulder; she then pulled her gun from her waistband and opened fire, no longer concerned with being quiet. Her shooting gave them a little distance from the horde and they rushed to the nearest locker, slamming the door closed and plunging themselves into darkness.

A tiny flicker of light caught Madison’s attention and she turned to see Daryl holding up a cigarette lighter as he grabbed her arm, looking at it closely. “Didn’t feel nothin’ get ya? No bites, no scratches?” he asked, examining her other arm and back.

“No, nothing. You?” she replied, grabbing the lighter and inspecting him, afraid of what she’d find after he was surrounded like he was. “I don’t see anything.”

“Nah, I ain’t bit.” he assured her as he gently took the lighter back and led her to the back of the unit, away from the walkers beating on the locker door. “We’re gonna be here fer a while, might as well get comfortable,” he groaned as he eased himself down to the floor. Madison didn’t join him; instead she stood watching the door. Daryl grabbed her wrist and pulled her down next to him. Once she was settled, he snapped the lid closed on the lighter, leaving them in darkness again with no other clue to what was going on outside other than the relentless pounding of the walkers at the door.

Madison pressed her hands against her ears in an attempt to block out the sound of the monsters at the door, but it was no use. Memories of being trapped in the motel the night her mom died came flooding back and tears silently rolled down her face as her mind replayed the moment the door gave way over and over again. She could feel herself starting to panic as she realized there was no fire escape to crawl down this time; they were cornered with no way out.  “Daryl, what if the door doesn’t hold?” she finally asked through her tears, desperately clinging to her knife.

“It will.”

She shook her head, even though she knew Daryl couldn’t see her response, “But what if it doesn’t, doors give way...there’s no way out this time.”

Daryl fumbled in the dark searching for her free hand before finally finding it and holding it tight; he knew the horrors she was reliving and tried his best to calm her, “We handled them walkers on the road, we can handle this. Don’t worry, won’t let nothin’ happen t’ya.” He brought her trembling hand to his lips and pressed a light kiss against her knuckles then started to laugh.

“What could possibly be funny right now?”

“What would we’da done if this happened yesterday?” he chuckled, remembering how they couldn’t even share the same air without biting each other’s heads off less that twenty-four hours earlier.

“You mean getting locked in here together?”

“Yeah.”

Madison sat quietly for a second, giving his question some serious thought. “Honestly I think I would’ve rather taken my chances with the walkers,” she whispered, chuckling a little herself.

“Me too,” Daryl agreed, pulling another small laugh from Madison before the pair fell silent again. Daryl was pleased with himself for distracting Madison, even if it was only for a minute; she was clearly still scared from the way her small hand was shaking in his, but at least he managed to stop her crying and he hoped that meant he’d made her feel safer. Minutes slowly stretched to hours as they sat huddled together in the darkness, the one positive in their situation was that the walkers outside seemed to be losing interest in them and were beating on the door less and less.

Eventually, mental and emotional exhaustion started taking its toll on Madison and she kept nodding off and then jerking awake. After she dozed off against Daryl’s shoulder and startled awake for the third time, he let go of her hand and put his arm around her and tried to gently guide her down to rest her head on his lap. “C’mon, lay down. Ain’t getting outta here tonight, we should rest.”

“No,” Madison protested, resisting the light force of Daryl’s hand against her arm. “If you want to sleep, be my guest, but I know I won’t be able to relax enough to sleep. Besides one of us should be awake. Just in case.”

“Maddie, ya keep fallin’ asleep on me; yer exhausted. Ain’t no point in us stayin’ awake. We’re safe in here fer now an’ that door’s s’damn loud anythin’ tries t’get in here it’ll wake us up in time t’do somethin’ ‘bout it.”

With a sigh, Madison gave in and laid her head on Daryl’s thigh. “You make a good pillow, thank you,” she whispered as she closed her eyes and tried to make her anxious mind relax. Daryl hummed in reply and moments later his fingers found their way to her hair and he brushed it out of her face and continued to run his fingers through it; he hoped it would calm her down, but also found it soothing himself. “About earlier…” Madison’s small voice cut through the silence.

“I know y’were pissed at me ‘bout givin’ Carl watch, but ya really think tryin’ t’stab me was the right way to express yerself?” he teased in a feeble attempt to keep her mood light.

She chuckled in spite of herself and slapped his leg, “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” She paused and exhaled, her voice serious when she spoke again; she’d already lost Daryl once for speaking without thinking and being too stubborn to apologize, she couldn’t let that happen again. “I’m sorry I overreacted; and that tantrum with the blankets-”

“Shhh,” he quietly cut her off, “Don’t worry ‘bout it. I gotta stop tryin’ t’protect ya all the time. Y’ain’t that girl in the woods no more; ya can take care of yerself.”

“We can take care of each other,” Madison corrected him, turning to head to look up at him, even though she knew she couldn’t see his face in the dark of the sealed locker. “It shouldn’t fall solely on your shoulders.” Daryl didn’t speak as he started running his hand up and down her arm and she tried to fall asleep again. After several minutes of unsuccessfully chasing sleep, she spoke up again, “What about the others; do you think they made it inside?”

Daryl sighed, “Hope so. Think I saw some of ‘em get t’a locker.”

Madison’s mind was racing and her mouth did its best to catch up as questions poured out of her, “What if they didn’t? What if someone got bit? What if in the confusion they went into the wrong unit and get trapped inside like those walkers we found the first day here? What if-”

“‘Nough with the ‘what ifs’ Maddie,” Daryl sternly interrupted her, snapping her out of her mild panic. “Worryin’ ain’t gonna change nothin’. Either they’re all fine an’ we’ll know fer sure in the mornin’ or they ain’t an’ it’s too late t’do anythin’ fer them now.” His tone softened as he continued, his voice low, “We got each other. That’s what’s important; we’ll figure the rest out.”

Madison nodded against his leg, unable to speak as a swirl of emotions raged within her. She knew he was right, what was done was done and there was nothing they could do to help the others, but the idea that they were gone killed her and she didn’t know if she could handle being one of the last survivors of a group again. She reached for Daryl’s hand and clung to it, grateful beyond words that she had him and wouldn’t be facing whatever the future held alone, she knew that whatever happened next they could handle together. “It’s quiet out there,” she mumbled when she finally had control of her voice again.

“Yeah.”

“Do think that’s a good sign or a bad sign?”

“I dunno,” Daryl admitted quietly, wishing he could give her the answers she was looking for. An uneasy silence filled the locker and eventually Madison’s breathing slowed and deepened causing a sigh to escape Daryl's lips. He was relieved that she had finally fallen asleep, for her sake and for his; he was exhausted from hiding his own fears from her for her peace of mind. Wearily, he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, not expecting to sleep, but just hoping to rest for a minute.

Hours passed in silence as both Madison and Daryl drifted in and out of a restless sleep. When he was sure morning had come, Daryl sat staring forward into the darkness as he tried to determine if it was safe to venture outside yet and how he was going to help her through the trauma if they stepped outside and found the remains of a massacre. As his mind wandered, he absentmindedly drew pattern on Madison’s arm as she slept, stopping abruptly and grabbing hold of her when the door rattled out of nowhere, cutting through the quiet. “Madison,” he urgently whispered and she sat up immediately, her heart pounding when she heard the door rattle some more. “Ya got yer knife? Yer gun?”

“Yeah,” she said in a strangled whisper as the door gave way and lifted slightly, allowing the groans from outside to fill the locker.

They could finally see each other as a little bit of sunlight filtered into the unit after the door lifted. Daryl saw the terror in Madison’s eyes as their eyes met, both of them realizing they probably weren’t going to make it out of the storage unit alive. He cupped her cheek as his eyes danced across her face, committing every fleck of gold in her eyes and every freckle on her nose to memory. “Ya know I love ya, right Maddie?”

“I love you too,” she whispered, grasping his hand and holding it to her face as she stared into the blue eyes she loved so much for possibly the last time.

The groans got louder and the door gave way some more, lifting even higher and revealing several sets of legs outside the door. Daryl roughly pushed Madison back behind some boxes for cover and followed her, putting himself between her and the danger outside. He glanced at her as she checked the rounds in her gun and brandished her knife, her hands shaking again; he didn’t care what happened to him, his only concern was keeping her safe. “Ya see a chance t’run, ya take it, ya hear me?” he ordered as he loaded and cocked his bow.

Madison stared at him in disbelief. “I’m not leaving you!” she argued.

“Dammit woman, I ain’t askin’ ya! Ya run; ain’t gonna let ya die fer me!”

“And you think I am? Not a chance! Daryl, we’re in this together!”

Daryl opened his mouth to argue, but changed his mind; he'd wasted too much time fighting with her already and now their time was up. He pulled her closer and kissed her, wanting to feel her lips on his once more before the end. Madison returned the kiss, desperately wanting to make it clear to Daryl how much she loved him before their time together was over. There was a finality and a tenderness to the kiss that brought tears to her eyes and she hated herself for missing out on her last few days with the man she loved.

They heard the door give the rest of the way and they jumped apart. Turning to the door, they were temporarily blinded by the bright sun streaming into the locker. “If you see one of them bite me, put an arrow in my brain. Please! Don’t let me end up like Ally,” Madison pleaded, frightened because she couldn’t see what was in front of them.

“I promise,” Daryl agreed with a heavy heart, pleading to a God he wasn’t sure he even believed in not to let it come to that. Squinting against the light, trying to see the best they could, they stood side by side with the weapons at the ready, prepared to fight for as long as they could last.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I'm back! I think my life is going to settle down again, at least for the time being, and I hope not to make you wait so long between updates any more. Also I have internet again (yay!), which means no more typing on my phone because that's the only "internet" connection I have. Do you know how long it takes to write a chapter on a phone? A very long time. I can't thank you enough for sticking with me and reading this story, it means so much to me and I've enjoyed every minute I've spent writing this; I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Same as always, I do not own TWD or any of its characters, I only own Madison.

Daryl and Madison waited for their eyes to adjust to the brightness before firing, not wanting to waste ammo by shooting blindly. As her eyes started getting used to the light, Madison could make out five silhouettes in the doorway; she knew they were still in danger, but seeing such a small number in front of them gave her hope that she and Daryl could make it. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and noticed his stance hadn't relaxed at all and he was looking forward with a confused, wary expression. She focused forward again, trying to see what Daryl saw that she clearly didn't as he mumbled under his breath, "Why ain't they comin' at us?"

As if on cue, one of them took a step forward and Daryl tensed, taking aim; he cursed himself for speaking, obviously he and Madison were hidden in the shadows and the walkers hadn't known they were there until they heard him. The others followed, taking slow steps into the locker. Madison steadied herself and cocked her gun, the small noise echoing through the space.

"Hey! Hey, don't shoot!" the owner of the closet silhouette called out, raising their hands and taking another step far enough into the storage unit that they were no longer backlit and Daryl and Madison could make out their features. "Relax, okay? It's us."

"Glenn?" Madison breathed. Unwilling to believe her eyes and ears she studied the others coming into view, stunned to discover that she recognized them.

"We found them; they're in here!" Carl called and ran from the locker to get the rest of the group.

Glenn took another small, slow step towards them, “Yeah; it’s-it’s me. You guys want to stop aiming at me now?”

Madison nodded, too shocked to answer him, as she tucked her gun away. “Thank God,” she murmured, resting her forehead against Daryl’s shoulder and exhaling deeply as he took her hand and squeezed, reaffirming that they were going to be all right.

"C'mon, let's get outta here," he whispered pulling her towards the door and shouldering his crossbow. Once they were out of the locker, Madison looked around at the group standing outside the locker and the others running to join them. Her free hand covered her mouth as she fought back tears and did another head count. "Holy shit, we all made it?" Daryl asked, taking the words right out of her mouth.

Before Madison could answer, Maggie and Beth charged her and attacked her with a hug, tearing her away from Daryl. Amid their laughter and tears, Beth caught Madison's attention and whispered, "So, you and Daryl are...okay?"

"Beth, now is so not the time," Madison laughed, casting her eyes towards Daryl just in time to see Carol throw her arms around him. She suppressed a giggle at his wide-eyed, shocked expression as he looked to Madison silently asking her what he should do, not wanting to upset her after he used Carol against her during their break up. She smiled and shrugged then nodded and he briefly returned Carol's hug before quickly backing away.

Making sure Carol wouldn't be able to say or do anything else to him, Daryl turned to Rick, the relief he felt quickly melting into anger for the group being put in danger in the first place. "Rick, d'ya pull Carl off watch? What the hell happened?"

"Daryl, this isn't anyone's fault," Madison tried to reason with him, seeing the guilt in Carl's eyes.

"The hell it ain't; somebody screwed up."

Carl stepped forward and challenged Daryl, no longer the timid little boy Madison knew on the farm, "You said they were coming from the north, so that's where I looked. I did the best I could with what I had!" Daryl took a good, long look at Carl and sized him up; he'd known Carl for almost a year now and it was like he'd watch the boy take his first step into manhood and it filled him with pride so he nodded and backed down. "If anyone screwed up, you did," Carl finished and Daryl did his best to hide his amused smirk at the kid's nerve.

"They got in through the back, tore down that fence we tried to fix," Rick calmly explained, standing up for his son even though he was holding his own. "Now that we found you two and we're all accounted for we need to get movin'; that herd's still out there. We pushed our luck stayin' here as long as we did."

"Where to now?" Hershel asked.

"We stick to the plan, head in the direction they came from; hopefully we can avoid runnin' into them again. Everyone gather what you can, quickly; let's get outta here before they come back," Rick addressed the group, gesturing towards the cars and the few supplies haphazardly strewn on the pavement.

Madison ignored Rick's instructions for the time being and turned to Beth and Maggie to find out what happened after she and Daryl got locked in their unit. As the three women quickly traded information, Hershel came up to Madison and put his arm around her shoulder. "First things first, I'm glad you're safe," he said, giving her a quick squeeze. "Second, you were trapped in that unit well over twelve hours, drink some water."

"Yes, Doctor Hershel," she laughed as he handed her a bottle of water; she took it with a grateful smile and eagerly drank before pausing and craning her neck, "Thanks. Did you see where Daryl went? He needs some too, I'm sure."

"Oh, he'll be fine. It looks like he's got himself a nurse already," Hershel replied pointing to Carol following Daryl around in spite of his best efforts to dodge her. Madison chuckled and shook her head, momentarily feeling pity for Carol's continued attempts to win him over instead of the jealousy that would normally accompany a scene like this. Hershel smiled, relieved to see a smile back on Madison's face; he turned to Beth and Maggie, "Girls, mind if I speak with Madison for a minute?"

The two girls glanced at Madison and then back to their father and nodded, stepping away to help get the group ready to leave and give Madison and Hershel a moment. "Is everything all right?" Madison asked, worried by the way Hershel dismissed his daughters; anything he had to say to her could be said in front of Maggie and Beth, this had to be serious. "Did someone get hurt last night?"

"That's what I want to find out," Hershel answered kindly, leading Madison away from the group so they could speak freely. "I saw you two get into a locker last night, so I knew the walkers didn't get you, but I've been worried about you none the less. That's a long time and a small room to be stuck in with someone who treats you like he has been; do I need to have a talk with that boy?"

The protective, father-like tone behind Hershel's question brought a faint smile to Madison's lips; her father died so long ago she'd forgotten what it was like to have someone watch over her like this, it was nice. "No," she whispered. Hershel's unconvinced expression prodded her onward. "No," she repeated, giving him a reassuring smile and taking his hand, "The night before last he and I talked. We're good. We just hadn't had a chance to tell anyone before the herd showed up."

"Anyone can say anythin' to get someone to forgive them; what matters is what's behind it. Was he sincere? Is he goin' to do better?"

"It wasn't all him, I wish everyone would stop looking at him like he's the bad guy in all this; but yes, to both your questions."

Hershel looked away from Madison and saw Daryl apprehensively making his way towards them, leery of what Hershel was telling Madison in light of his last conversation with the older man. With a sigh, Hershel whispered, "I just don't want to see you end up in another abusive relationship. You deserve better."

"He is better," Madison replied, following Hershel's gaze and smiling warmly at Daryl before looking back to Hershel, "He's not perfect, but neither am I, and this won't be the last screaming match we get into; but he's not like that."

Daryl cleared his throat as he approached and nervously took Madison's hand, "C'mon, Rick's chompin' at the bit t'get outta here." He somewhat timidly glanced at the older man in front him and nodded, embarrassed by how he'd spoken to him the other day, "Hershel."

"Daryl," Hershel chuckled, returning the nod, impressed by how his talk with the young man next to Madison had made a difference; his entire demeanor had changed, he seemed more respectful and Hershel felt comfortable trusting Daryl with his adoptive daughter. "Promise me you'll take good care of her."

"Yes sir," Daryl stood taller and looked Hershel in the eye as he spoke, wanting to prove that he was good enough for Madison, "Ya have m'word." Hershel smiled at him and nodded again and Daryl gently tugged on Madison's hand to get her to follow him, anxious to get away before Hershel changed his mind. Once they were out of earshot, Daryl quietly asked, "Did 'e jus' give me 'is blessin'?"

"I think so," she replied with a smile, holding his hand tighter.

Daryl gave that a moment to sink in as they mounted his motorcycle and got ready to head out. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that a man he respected as much as Hershel saw him, an ill-tempered, crude, disrespectful redneck, as good enough for a woman he considered one of his children. It didn't make sense to him. On the one hand he was amazed and proud that Hershel felt this way, but on the other he was certain he'd misunderstood their exchange.

"Hey, where'd you go?" Madison softly asked when he didn't start the engine right away, gently brushing Daryl's hair off his forehead to get his attention and pulling him from his thoughts.

Glancing over his shoulder at the woman behind him, he asked in a strained whisper, "Hershel really gave me 'is blessin'?"

A soft smile spread across Madison's face as she saw the confusion in Daryl's eyes; she only hoped one day he would see that he was so much more than his past and could understand what a good man he was, despite his flaws. "Yeah, he did," she said, pressing her lips softly to his, "I'm not the only one who sees the best in you."

"Most dads lost their shit when they saw me hangin' 'round their daughters, threatenin' t'call the cops if they caught me near their property again. Ain't never got nobody's blessin' fer anythin' b'fore," he explained as he started the engine, still having a hard time accepting the truth.

"There's a first time for everything," she replied with a smile, holding on to him tighter as he started to drive forward, taking the lead once again as the group left the storage units behind.

The days and nights started warming up, bringing the miserable winter to an end and Madison was overjoyed to put that bleak time behind her. While the warmer temperatures solved some of the group's problems by making the nights bearable and luring animals out in the open making them easier to hunt, new problems arose to take their place. The biggest trial facing the group was adjusting to the walkers as they returned to full mobility and once again they were always on the run, always fighting.

Spirits were low within the group as hunger and exhaustion took their toll and they became more and more accustomed to losses than wins. Madison had unofficially been given the role of the "defender of the defenseless" as she and Daryl referred to it, although never within earshot of the group; always staying behind to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. At first she resented her position, feeling that Rick was putting her there because he didn't see her fit to be on the front lines. She soon came to realize, with Daryl's help, that it was a compliment, that Rick knew she could hold her own if need be and that he trusted her with the life of his wife and unborn baby.

In mid-spring the group happened on a house that looked like a promising place to spend the night, but was run out by a cluster of walkers within the hour it was cleared. The others took the loss in stride, but for some reason this hit Madison hard and she fought to keep herself composed as she clung to Daryl as he lead the caravan away from the house. When they were far enough away from danger, they came to a stop so the group could figure out their next move. Daryl killed the engine and Madison didn't move to get off the bike, he glanced over his shoulder at her and saw her staring forward, scowling at nothing. "What's goin' on, Buster?" he asked, patting her leg to get her to look at him, "Ya look like someone jus’ kicked yer dog an’ pissed in yer coffee.”

Madison’s eyes flickered to Daryl’s and she smiled in spite of herself, placing her hand over his hand on her leg. Her smile faded as she answered him with a sigh, “We just-I, I just needed a win today; can’t believe that house didn’t pan out.” Forcing herself to pull her eyes away from his, she rested her forehead on his back and mumbled, “I’ll get over it; I’m just so tired of running.”

“That’s okay, so long as ya keep runnin’ when ya gotta.”

“You know I will,” Madison replied, meeting Daryl’s gaze.

“I know,” he whispered, offering her a small half smile. He hated seeing her like this. Madison usually had a way of helping him see the silver lining in any situation they found themselves in; seeing her so defeated was killing Daryl and he found himself wondering how bad off the group really was for even her to be so run down. “It ain’t gonna be like this ferever,” he assured her, pulling an unconvinced smile from her. He looked beyond Madison and saw the rest of the group getting out of their vehicles and making their way to the front of the caravan to look at the map. “Now get yer ass off m’bike so we can figure out what the hell we’re gonna do now,” Daryl instructed with a wink.

With a huff, Madison did as she was told, “You go, you figure. I’ll watch the rear; make sure no walkers catch us from behind.” Daryl nodded as he threw his leg over the seat and stood up, running a comforting hand up and down her upper arm as they walked around the bike before parting ways. Madison took her gun from the holster around her waist and leaned against the back of the pickup truck they’d found about a month ago, staring blankly forward. Normally she was part of the discussion as the group decided where to travel next, but she couldn’t handle it; not today, not after getting run out of that house. She knew exactly what would come from that discussion and didn’t see the point of hearing it again; they’d take one of their limited options and find a house that had already been picked clean, most likely by them earlier in the winter, and run away when walkers showed up. She let out a humorless chuckle as she reminded herself that the definition of insanity was repeating the same course of action and expecting different results; maybe they all had finally lost their minds.

Approaching footsteps caught Madison’s attention and she looked behind her to see T-Dog walking towards her. “We’re headin’ over to that creek to load up on water, could use a hand. The sooner we get what we need, the sooner we can get movin’ again,” he explained, “You in?”

“Sure,” Madison answered, turning around to get the water jugs out of the back of the truck and casting a quick glance at Daryl; he was talking to Rick and cocking his crossbow and she guessed they were going to try to hunt while the group was stopped. She handed the jugs to T and laughed politely as he tried to raise her spirits with some bad jokes. Feeling someone’s eyes on her, she looked over her shoulder and noticed Daryl staring in her direction, eyes narrowed, watching her interacting with T. She caught his eye and could easily make out the jealousy in his expression before he looked to the ground and started walking towards the trees with Rick right behind him. Madison sighed and shook her head; no matter how much they tried to move past it, evidence of their break up still reared its ugly head from time to time and she hoped that Daryl believed her when she said there was never anything going on between her and T.

Still not in the mood to chit chat, and wanting to keep some distance between herself and T-Dog to ease Daryl’s mind, Madison wandered farther upstream and away from the group to fill her containers. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the water and groaned; she looked terrible, complete with dirt smudged across her face and dried blood clumped in her hair. Running her hand through her hair as she tried to break apart the dried blood she realized how much it had grown over the past several months. It was starting to graze her shoulders and she hated it, especially when she remembered why she cut it in the first place. Telling herself it was for safety, not vanity, she made a mental note to look for scissors at the next house they came to, or at least talking Maggie into helping her make it more even and going at it with her knife again. She scoffed at herself for being concerned about something as trite as how she looked, everyone looked like they'd been through hell and back and she knew there were more pressing things to worry about, but it didn't stop her from leaning out over the creek and pouring the water she'd gathered over her head to try and get at least the top layer of grime off her skin and hair.

Daryl leaned against a tree and watched her for a moment from the shadows, stifling a laugh as he watched her carefully pour the water over her head, trying to avoid getting her clothes wet, and gasping as the cold water hit her. The temptation of Madison leaning over a body of water with her back to him was too much and a mischievous grin spread across his face as he silently snuck up behind her. He got as close as he dared before growling in her ear and grabbing her arm.

Madison gasped and let out a startled yelp, spinning around quickly and losing her footing; she would have fallen into the creek if Daryl’s strong hand didn’t have a hold of her arm and she would’ve been grateful if she wasn’t so irritated at him. “Daryl! Are you kidding me?” she asked, trying to catch her breath as her heart rate returned to normal, “How old are you?”

“How ya gonna stay alive if ya keep lettin’ yer guard down, Maddie?” Daryl asked through his laughter, extending his free hand to her and silently offering to help her up.

“Same way you’re going to stay alive if you keep scaring the crap out of me,” she replied as she reluctantly accepted his hand and he effortlessly yanked her to her feet, “a freaking miracle.”

He studied Madison’s face and chuckled when he saw her struggling to stay mad at him. With her hand still in his left hand and his right hand still on her arm he leaned in to give her a quick kiss. She responded just like he knew she would, closing her eyes, tilting her head back slightly, and letting her guard down; he took the bait again, pushing her backwards and holding her out over the creek. “Think m’grip’s slippin’, don’t know that I can hold ya,” he threatened, loosening his grip slightly and holding her farther out over the cold water.

Madison squealed, clinging to him, “Don’t you dare! Stop!” Daryl laughed and she pulled her eyes away from the water beneath her and looked in his bright blue eyes, gleaming as he tried to decide if he should drop her or not. “Daryl Dixon, don’t even think about it!” He let her hang there for a few more seconds before pulling her up. Once she felt safe enough, she released her death grip on him and smacked his arm, which only made him chuckle and she couldn’t help but join. “You child,” she muttered with a smile.

“C’mon,” he said after his laughter subsided, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek then taking her hand and tugging her arm, “Wanna show ya somethin’.”

Refusing to move, she gave him a skeptical look, “If it’s another walker carcass with some sort of wild animal living in it, I’ll pass.”

“It’s better than that, now c’mon,” he responded, impatiently pulling her forward.

Madison gave in and threw her head back and groaned as Daryl led her through the forest and along some train tracks. “I still can’t get the image of that snake coming out of that walker’s mouth out of my head,” she grumbled, “and not in a good way.”

“Jus’ stop mouthin’ off an’ look,” Daryl huffed, pointing through a break in the trees with a self-satisfied grin.

Confused, Madison's eyes darted back and forth between Daryl's face and where he was pointing; he was clearly excited about showing her something, but she couldn't see what he was seeing. He met her gaze with an expectant expression and, not wanting to offend him by staying silent, she smiled at him and said the only thing she could think of, "It's a prison...um, cool?"

"Yeah, I can see that, ya smartass," Daryl grumbled, rolling his eyes at her. He pulled her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her and continued, the excitement back in his voice, "Look again. See them fences? We could be safe in there; we could make a life in there."

The light went on in Madison's head as she grasped what Daryl was telling her, "We're moving the group in there?"

"Yeah, we're gonna try at least," he explained, thrilled to finally have a place where he could keep her safe. Even though Rick was the one who saw the prison's potential on their brief hunting trip earlier, Daryl was proud to present it to Madison and prove to her, and to himself, that he could provide for her. "We take out them bastards roamin' the yard an' look at all the space we'd have. Put someone in them guard towers an' we'll see every walker long before it gets t'us." Madison was silent for a moment and Daryl's face fell. "Ya don't like it?" he asked, deflated; he had been so excited to give this to her, especially after how hard she took losing the house earlier.

"It's perfect," she whispered, her voice thick as she tried to hold back the tears stinging her eyes, "Now this is what I call I win." Daryl smiled to himself and held her tighter as they both took a moment to enjoy the prospect of their months of running finally coming to an end.

Rick wasted no time and led the group to the prison that afternoon. They made their way into the outer fence without incident, grateful to see that the gates between the guard towers were still closed. Madison stood by Daryl as they surveyed the yard; there seemed to be so many more walkers inside now that they were so close. “You ready for the hard part?” she asked, second guessing their goal.

“It’s perfect,” Rick muttered, drawing their attention away from the yard full of walkers. “If we can shut that gate, prevent more from fillin’ the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We’ll take the field by tonight.”

“So how do we shut the gate?” Hershel questioned, seeing the flaw in Rick’s plan; the gate was on the other side of the walker infested yard and seemed nearly impossible to reach.

Glenn volunteered, “I’ll do it, you guys cover me.”

“No,” Maggie interjected, worried about Glenn’s safety, “It’s a suicide run.” Madison understood Maggie’s concern, knowing she’d object if Daryl offered to do it; but the fact remained someone had to do it and she was right, it was a suicide run.

“I’m the fastest,” Glenn countered.

Rick shook his head and walked towards Glenn, “No, you, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there,” he pointed along the fence, “Pop ‘em through the fence. T-Dog, you too. Daryl, go back to the other tower. Carol, you’ve become a pretty good shot. Take your time. We don’t have a lot of ammo to waste.” Daryl nodded to Rick and squeezed Madison’s hand before turning around and going where Rick directed him with Carol not far behind. Rick continued giving out assignments, “Hershel, you and Carl take this tower. I’ll run for the gate.”

Madison looked around, she and Lori were the only ones not given assignments and she sighed, not wanting to be useless while everyone else had a job to do; Lori was safe where they were, she didn’t need protection right now. “Where do you need me? I can run for the gate with you,” Madison offered, turning to Rick.

“No, I got it. Stay here and-”

“Everyone’s safe in here,” Madison interrupted Rick. Her eyes flashed to Lori as she stood by the gate ready to close it behind Rick; lowering her voice and taking a small step closer to him so Lori wouldn't overhear, she elaborated, “She doesn't need me right now Rick, you do. She's got plenty of people to protect her if things fall apart. So does Beth; and Hershel and Carol are up in the towers. I don't complain when you tell me to hang back and watch them because I know you've got me where you need me. Put me where you need me now, where you really need me.”

Surprised by her candor, Rick mulled over what she said for a moment before giving in, nodding in approval, "You're right. Stay behind me and watch my back; when we get to the gate I'll shut it. Remember we've got four sets of eyes watching us from the towers so don't shoot unless they're too close, that'll only attract more to us." Madison felt some of the color drain from her face, she hadn't thought of the possibility of noise causing the walkers to swarm them. She steadied herself and told herself to pull it together, but Rick noticed her moment of hesitation, "You sure you're up for this?"

Confidently meeting Rick's skeptical eyes, she nodded, "Absolutely. Let's do this." He nodded in return, satisfied that she could handle what they were about to attempt, and put his hand on her shoulder before turning to Glenn and taking some hooks chained together to hold the gate closed.

The group jumped into action as everyone started doing their jobs. Rick and Madison stood by the gate into the yard with Lori as she waited for Rick’s signal to open the gate. Madison glanced over her shoulder as she drew her gun and saw Daryl watching her, holding his hand up as if to ask what she was doing. She shrugged and looked towards Rick, the field of walkers, and then back to Daryl who shook his head and focused his attention on the walkers. Madison knew he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of her going in there, but knowing that Daryl was watching over them calmed her nerves a bit. Rick gave Lori the signal and she opened the gate and Madison and Rick stepped into the walker infested yard, making their way towards the far gate as quickly and quietly as possible.

Madison covered Rick as he ran ahead of her as instructed, doing her best to ignore the bullets flying all around them from the guard towers. Their first several feet into the yard lulled her into a false sense of security; those at the fences were doing a wonderful job of drawing the walkers away from the two of them and they snuck into the yard virtually undetected. That didn’t last long, however, and once they were out in the open walkers started coming at them from all sides. Madison’s heart pounded in her ears as fear washed over her and she frantically looked around them and realized how outnumbered they were. She swallowed her fear and focused on keeping Rick safe, fighting to keep her aim steady as they ran into the horde. A bolt whizzed past her and struck a walker that was coming up behind her. The sound startled her and she whipped around as the walker hit the ground; she’d been so focused on watching Rick’s back that she wasn’t paying attention to her own surroundings and she glanced up at her guardian angel as he reloaded his crossbow, cringing at the thought of what would’ve happened if Daryl hadn’t been watching out for her.

As they got closer to the gate Madison ran next to Rick, putting herself between him and a heavy cluster of walkers. A stray bullet came within inches of hitting them and they both stopped short and looked around for the source. Carol called out “Sorry” and Madison couldn’t help but throw a dirty look up at her; there weren’t any walkers close enough to warrant her shooting so close to them and the thought crossed Madison’s mind that maybe Carol’s poor aim wasn’t an accident. She shook her head to clear the ridiculous thought from her mind; Carol  was many things, but she wasn't a killer Madison told herself as she pressed forward.   

Madison cleared a path to the gate for Rick and turned around and kept shooting as he secured it with the chained hooks in his hands. A wide smile spread across her face as she heard the gate close; they did it. They actually did it. “Madison, in here; come on,” Rick shouted as he cleared the stairwell of the nearest guard tower. Glancing behind her, she backed towards the tower. Madison took out two more walkers as they closed in; she was about to pull the door shut when a walker lunged at her from the side. Anchoring herself against the doorframe and the door itself, she summoned all her strength and kicked the monster away from her as hard as she could and slammed the door shut before it could come at her again.

Daryl watched Madison disappear into the guard tower and held his breath until he saw her step out on the guard rail with Rick. “Light it up!” he called to the others once he knew she was safe and signaled everyone to open fire on the remaining walkers in the field.

“We did it,” Madison laughed, glancing at Rick with an expression of disbelief and pride.

“We did it,” he echoed with the biggest smile on his face that she had ever seen.

Once the final walker hit the ground, Madison and Rick made their way out of the tower to meet up with the rest of the group. Daryl jogged over to Madison and caught her in a tight hug, lifting her off the ground. When he set her back down, she sheepishly looked up at him, unable to read his expression, and scrunched up her face, asking quietly, “Are you mad?”

“Nope; I'm used t'ya takin' stupid risks by now” he replied, tucking her hair behind her ear, “Jus’ glad yer okay.”

Before they lost the light, Rick had the group check each of the walkers littering the prison yard to be certain they were all dead. Once he was satisfied that they were taken care of, he left to do a perimeter check of the fences while everyone else prepared to set up a makeshift camp for the night. Madison set to work cooking the few squirrels Daryl caught on his hunting trip with Rick before they got sidetracked by the discovery of the prison. When they were just about done, she asked Beth to watch the squirrels and take them off the fire when they were ready while she tried to pull Daryl off watch long enough to eat. Now that she wasn't hunched over the fire she could feel the chill in the air and threw Daryl's poncho over her head and made her way to the overturned bus he was standing on, his eyes trained beyond the fences. “You know,” she called to him as she approached, cutting through the silence and catching him off guard, making him whip his head around. She smirked at being the one to startle him for a change before she continued, “We’re behind two sets of fences; I think we’re safe enough to do without someone on watch for twenty minutes. Come eat something.”

“Nah. Can’t let our guard down, thinkin’ we’re safe when we don’t know it fer sure. I’ll be fine; I’ll eat when I’m off,” he replied, turning his attention back to the fences.

Madison let out an exasperated groan as she walked around the bus so he could look at her as they talked; he was right, but his stubbornness irritated her sometimes. “There might not be anything left by then, want me to bring you a plate?”

“Don’t worry ‘bout me, Buster. Had some of that owl earlier, remember?”

“Sure, like nine hours ago, before we took out an entire field of walkers,” she pointed out as she started climbing up the bus towards him, “Run grab something; I’ll take watch until you get back.” Daryl didn’t respond, only threw a perturbed glance down at her before looking forward again, letting her know to drop the subject. “Do you want some company at least?” she sighed.

After taking a moment to decide, he nodded and bent down to help Madison up, looking in her eyes with a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips. Being near her was a constant struggle for Daryl as her presence alone still tended to distract him and he continually had to force himself to focus; but tonight, with the safety the fences offered and the moonlight caught in her fiery hair, he did something he didn’t do often and allowed himself a moment to admire the stunning woman in front of him that had done the impossible and stolen his heart. They hadn’t had more than a few stolen moments to be alone in weeks and he wanted nothing more than to spend the evening holding her, which was exactly the problem. Knowing he couldn’t trust himself to keep watch if she stayed, he groaned and sat back on his heels, running a hand over his face, never taking his crystal blue eyes from hers, “Mmm, I know myself; better not. Won’t be watchin’ the fences if ya stick ‘round.”

“Like I said, we’re safe here. We don’t need someone watching the fences,” she breathed, the hungry look in his eyes making her want to stay with him as badly as he wanted her to stay.

“Go relax, after clearin’ the yard with Rick ya’ve earned it. I’ll come find ya later.”

She couldn’t hide the disappointment on her face as she looked up at him and pouted her lips for a moment before heaving a heavy sigh. “Okay fine, but do me a favor and take this at least,” she insisted, pulling off his poncho and handing it to him, “It’s cold tonight and I’ll be by the fire, you’ll freeze up here without it.” With a grateful, lopsided smile, Daryl handed her his bow and took the poncho from her hands and slipped it over his head before taking his bow back from her. “Just promise me you’ll eat sometime tonight; you may be fine not eating, but I’m the one that’s going to get stuck listening to your stomach growl all night if you don’t,” she teased as she carefully climbed off the bus.

“Get outta here woman, yer distractin’ me,” he said with a smirk as Madison jumped to the ground, chuckling as she wrapped her arms around herself and rushed back to the warmth of the campfire.

By the time Madison got back to the group, the squirrels were done and everyone was already eating. "Couldn't talk him into joining us?" Lori asked when she saw Madison returning alone.

"Have you met Daryl?" Madison laughed, tossing an amused expression at Lori and taking a seat between T and Glenn. "You can't talk him into anything he doesn't want to do. He said he'll just eat when he's off." She leaned forward to grab herself a couple of hunks of meat and mentally shook her head when she saw how little food was left. "So let's try to remember to save some for him if we can, okay guys?"

"My dad too," Carl added.

Madison nodded at him, "Your dad too."

Carol glared at Madison as she settled back down and began eating. "So you're not even going to take him a plate?" she accused rather than asked, her voice dripping with disapproval.  

Madison glanced at Carol and shook her head, feeling extremely uncomfortable as though she had to defend herself. "I offered; he said no. I told him I'd take watch for him while he came and ate; he said no," she shrugged and defiantly met Carol's judgmental stare, "I'm not his mother, I can't force him to eat."

"Can't or won't?" Carol threw at Madison as she divided what was left of the food onto two dishes and marched towards Daryl with a huff, food in hand.

Baffled by what just happened, Madison's mouth fell open slightly as she watched Carol walk away. Suddenly worried that she had dropped the ball, she looked at Maggie, "I don't want to smother him; you know how he is. Am I in the wrong here?"

Maggie gave her friend a reassuring smile and shook her head, "Let Carol play mother hen. This way he'll get somethin' to eat and you stay on his good side. Win-win."

"And we'd hate for him to miss out on this meal. Mmm, just like mom used to make," Glenn teased, throwing the small bone in his hand as far as he could.

"Shut up," Madison grumbled, nudging his arm good-naturedly, "I did what I could. It's better than that dog food Carl found at the house."

The group laughed at Madison's comment and started chatting about getting fresh water into the yard and the possibility of planting some vegetables; but no matter how hard she tried to focus on the conversation, Madison couldn't keep her eyes from darting over to Daryl and Carol. She knew she could trust him, it was Carol she didn't trust and she worried what Carol would say this time to try and make her look bad to Daryl. She drew her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly as she tried to convince herself that she had nothing to worry about.

When Carol reached the bus, she didn't wait for an invitation before tossing the food up to Daryl and climbing up to join him. Surprised to see Carol, rather than Madison, paying him a visit he quickly threw his crossbow across his back and reached down to help her up. Once she was standing next to him, he reached for the plate of food and Carol smiled to herself, proud that she was able to get him to eat, and explained her reasoning to him, “It’s not much, but if I don’t bring you something you won’t eat at all.”

Daryl shook his head and threw an amused glance towards the fire. “Maddie send ya?” he asked with his mouth full.

“No,” Carol snapped, “she just sat down and started eating. She wasn’t about to bring you anything and I knew if I didn’t do something there wouldn’t have been anything left.”

“Told ‘er not t’bother,” he replied, defending Madison. “Woulda been fine if I didn’t eat; lil’ Shane over there’s got quite the appetite.”

Carol giggled softly at his comment, “Don’t be mean.” She paused and watched Rick as he continued to check the fences for any weak points. “Rick’s gotten us a lot farther than I ever thought he would, I’ll give him that.” Daryl grunted in agreement as he took another bite. “Shane could never have done that,” she admitted quietly as she moaned and rolled her neck and shoulders.

“What’s wrong?”

Playing up her minor discomfort to try and get some sympathy from the man beside her, Carol rubbed her shoulder and sighed, “It’s that rifle. The kickback. I’m just not used to it.”

Daryl nodded and shoved the last few morsels of food in his mouth. “Hang on,” he mumbled as he licked his fingers and, without thinking anything of it, turned her around and started massaging her sore shoulder. A self-satisfied smirk spread across Carol’s face and widened when she glanced over to the fire and locked eyes with Madison briefly. Knowing what had to be running through Madison's mind, Carol didn't back down and sighed as she turned her head and smiled warmly at Daryl. Suddenly uncomfortable with what was happening, he stopped rubbing Carol's shoulder and took a step away from her. His eyes flickered over to Madison and then down to his shoes, chastising himself for not seeing through Carol's ruse. Even though in his mind he was just helping a friend, he knew the massage meant something else to Carol and that seeing it must be tearing Madison apart. Unable to deny the guilt he felt his gaze darted back to Madison and he muttered, "Better get back."

"It's pretty romantic," Carol commented; she knew why Daryl was so eager to get back and she wanted to prolong their interaction as long as possible. With puckered lips she teased, hoping her voice would carry to the fire, "Want to screw around?"

Trying to hide his discomfort, Daryl scoffed and let out a quiet, uneasy laugh at Carol's absurd suggestion. "I'll go down first," he said, taking a few steps to the edge of the bus, anxious to get out of the awkward situation he found himself in.

"Even better."

"Stop," Daryl warned, giving her a stern look, as he climbed down.

Madison couldn't believe her eyes as she watched Daryl spin Carol around and start rubbing her shoulder; she knew it was a simple massage and was nothing to be upset about, but jealousy clouded her judgment and she felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. After everything, why Carol? She wouldn't have given it a second thought if he had rubbed Lori's shoulder or Beth's, but Carol? He knew her history with Carol and after the way Carol made a move on him during their break up, how did he not see what was going on, what she was up to?

Carol looked at Madison and caught her staring, causing her to drop her eyes and blush slightly, embarrassed for getting caught and letting Carol know she was succeeding and getting under her skin. Even though she was too far away to tell for certain, Madison was sure she saw Carol smirk at her before turning to face Daryl. She tried to keep her eyes focused on the flames in front of her, but against her will they continued to dart to the pair on the bus. She watched as Daryl dropped his hands and moved away from Carol and glanced in her direction; meeting his gaze Madison dropped her head again, breaking eye contact, and rested her chin against her knees as she stared solemnly into the fire.

As quickly as he could, Daryl made his way over to Madison, irritated with Carol for following him so closely, and sheepishly stood behind her; trying, and failing, to catch her eye. Moments later Rick joined the group, taking a seat between his son and his wife and sharing his dinner with Lori much to Madison’s surprise. “Better all turn in. I’ll take watch over there,” he gestured to the bus as he addressed the group huddled around the fire, “Got a big day tomorrow.”

“What do you mean?” Glenn asked, clearly drained and not liking the sound of Rick’s statement.

“Look, I know we're all exhausted,” Rick admitted. “This was a great win. But we’ve got to push just a little bit more.” He paused as he took in the confused faces of those surrounding him and continued, “Most of the walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. It could mean the supplies may be intact. They’d have an infirmary, a commissary.”

“An armory?” Daryl interrupted, seeing the potential behind Rick’s idea.

Rick nodded, “That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden’s office would have info on the location.” Focusing his attention on the others, he tried to get his point across as he pointed to the prison behind him, “Weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a gold mine!”

Hershel shook his head, unconvinced, and pointed out the problem with Rick’s suggestion, “We’re dangerously low on ammo. We’d run out before we make a dent.”

“That’s why we have to go in there…hand to hand.”

Wearily, Madison ran her hands over her face, not liking what their leader was telling them. “But Rick,” she began with a sigh, “We were lucky today. Going in there, not knowing what we’re facing? Without enough ammo? It’s a death sentence.”

Rick answered her concerns with a kind smile, a rarity these days, and said in an urgent whisper, “After all we’ve been through, we can handle it, I know it.” He turned to Carl and nudged him, “These assholes don’t stand a chance.” Glancing from face to face and hearing no further protests, Rick stood and strode off towards the bus to take watch.

"We'd better do like Rick said and call it a night," Carol commented, looking at Madison as she forced herself between the redhead and Glenn, making her scoot closer to T-Dog.

Fighting back jealousy that he knew was unfounded; Daryl ignored Madison's proximity to T and gently placed his hand on her back to get her attention. "Ya doin' okay?" he mumbled, crouching down to her level; he hoped she was just worried about fighting their way into the prison the next day, but deep down he knew she was upset about what had happened with Carol. Without a word or so much as glancing in his direction, she shook her head and jumped to her feet then stomped away from him. With a groan, Daryl stood and chased after her, ignoring Carol’s questioning expression filled with mock concern. When he caught up to her he cleared his throat to let her know he was there and she finally looked at him, the hurt and frustration in her eyes cutting like a knife. He hesitantly reached for her hand and wasn't surprised when she pulled away from him and folded her arms.

"You and Carol were getting pretty cozy on watch," she whispered; Daryl had prepared himself for malice in her voice, but the quiet pain he heard instead took him by surprise. He could handle when she was mad at him, but it killed him knowing he'd hurt her once again by being an idiot and not thinking. "I thought you didn't want me around because I was distracting you; I didn't realize I just wasn't the distraction you were looking for."

"Don't do that; don't go an' make this worse than it is. I'm sorry, 'lright? Didn't mean nothin'."

"It did to her; she knew what she was doing," Madison snapped, the latent anger she was feeling finally making its way to the surface. She took a small step closer to him; she was angry at Carol more so than the man in front of her, but since Carol wasn't there Madison took her frustrations out on Daryl. "How could you fall for that? You know how she feels about you!"

Fed up with having the same argument yet again, Daryl scoffed at Madison's questions and dismissively waved his arm at her, turning away from her slightly. "Whatever," he grumbled under his breath, even though he'd been asking himself those very question.

"Why do you think she and I have been at odds since the day we met?" she challenged, taking a step to the side to make him look at her. "I'll give you a hint; he wears a poncho and carries a crossbow!"

"Don't matter how she feels 'cause I don't feel that way," he insisted through clenched teeth, turning to face her head on and folding his arms across his broad chest.

"Yet."

"Is this 'bout what happened back at the storage units?" Daryl asked in disbelief, dropping his arms to his side. "Dammit Madison! What do I gotta do t'make ya trus' me?" he bellowed, aggressively inching closer to her. The walkers on the other side of the fence started growling louder, intrigued by the sudden noise caused by his outburst. Squeezing his hands into fists, he tried to calm down before he spoke again, his voice low and fierce, "Ya know she asked if I wanted t'screw 'round?" Madison's mouth opened slightly and her eyes widened, unsure of what to do with the information she'd just received and he continued before she could respond. "She was jus' jokin', but I still left. I ain't always been a good guy, but I ain't no cheater an' I sure as hell ain't 'bout t'start now," he seethed, breathing heavily through his anger.

Madison was rendered speechless; she hadn't considered the toll her trust issues were taking on Daryl. She looked in his eyes and, hidden behind his scowl, she could see how much it hurt him that she didn't trust him. Feeling like she was an inch tall she looked at her hands and nervously picked at the dirt under her nails as she tried to think of what to say. "I'm, I'm sorry Daryl," she stuttered. 'Sorry' felt so trivial as it left her mouth, but she was at a loss as of what else to say. "I know you're not a cheater; it's not you I don't trust or that I'm mad at, it's Carol. I shouldn't have taken it out on you, I'm...sorry," she finished with a humorless chuckle as she ran her hand through her hair, "Sorry sounds so stupid, but I don't know what else to say."

“It’s fine, we’re fine. Jus’ don’t always assume the worst of me, ‘lright? Gimme the benefit of the doubt sometimes; that ain’t askin’ too much.” Madison nodded and opened her mouth to try and smooth things over, but Daryl talked over her, “I don’t shit a brick e’ery time T talks t’ya, like this mornin’ by the truck or ‘im sittin’ by ya at the fire t’night; ya think I liked seein’ that?”

“No,” she muttered, looking to the ground again, unable to meet Daryl’s piercing eyes, “but it’s a different situation with him.”

“Yeah? How?”

‘For one thing there’s no touching,’ Madison countered in her head, but she could see his point and didn’t want to make their argument worse so she held her tongue. Finally forcing herself to look at Daryl, she answered; pleading with him to believe her and understand, “T’s not interested in me that way.”

Daryl laughed in spite of himself and gave her an amused lop-sided smile though his eyes told her she was being naive. “Maddie, ‘e’s a guy, ain’t ‘e? After what 'e offered back at the lockers, yeah ‘e is.”

“So what?” she asked, throwing her hands up. “That doesn’t mean anything because I don’t think of him like that…” her sentence trailed off into silence as she heard herself using the same defense Daryl had used moments earlier.

“Nah, keep talkin’. What were ya gonna say? I mean it, go on; I like hearin’ ya winnin' this argument fer me,” he teased with a triumphant smirk as he folded his arms and leaned back, pleased with the outcome of their spat.

Madison buried her face in her hands, trying to hide the deep blush tinting her cheeks as she realized how ridiculous she’d been acting. “I’m being a total idiot, aren’t I?” she mumbled into her hands before glancing up at Daryl, “I get it now; I won’t bring this up again. I promise. Forgive me?”

Shrugging off her apology, he gently touched her face as he spoke, his voice soft but resolute, “Stop ‘pologizin’ all the time, said we’re fine. I know ya’ve had it rough, but I ain’t like that, ‘lright? An’ we can’t work if y’don’t trus’ me; got it?”

“Yeah,” she muttered, feeling a little like a scolded child, “I got it.”

With a deep chuckle, Daryl pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead, “If it weren’t s’damn annoyin’ it’d be cute.”

“I’m sorry, did I just hear Daryl Dixon say the word ‘cute’?” she asked with mock confusion, stifling a giggle when he rolled his eyes at her and wrapped his arms around her. “What would be cute?”

“How jealous ya get,” he whispered in her ear, his deep voice echoing in his chest.

Madison gasped and pulled back slightly, slapping his arm, “I’m not jealous.”

“C’mon Buster, stop bullshittin’ me,” he teased with an amused twinkle in his eye from her reaction.

“All right, fine. I’m jealous. Happy? I guess I shouldn’t be, right? I mean it’s not like we’re married or anything.”

Daryl stared at her and dropped his arms, releasing her. Her face fell instantly, kicking herself for her poor choice of a joke, terrified that the man in front of her would spook and run. “Ya…ya wanna get married?” he asked her, nervously scratching the back of his head then nibbling on his thumb, "Ya still think 'bout that stuff?"

Stunned by the fact that they were even having this discussion, she sputtered as she tried to figure out what to say to fix the situation. "Well, yeah-I...just...it's not... No more than anyone else!" she finally blurted, going into damage control mode. "I mean, I’m lucky enough to have been with the man I love for close to a year… I'm a woman, I can't help that those thoughts creep into my head. Not the big ceremony with the dress and flowers obviously, but..." Seeing Daryl's tense body language, Madison decided to change tactics and laugh it off, pretending like it really didn't matter to her and hiding that the more she talked the more she realized in a perfect world, marrying him was all she wanted. "It was a stupid joke Daryl. Relax. Think about it; it's stupid, right? Dead people are walking around, the world has literally come to an end, and here I am, still thinking about getting married."

Daryl shot her a baffled look. He knew her well enough to know when she was covering something up and he could see right through her; this was something she really wanted. Maybe it was because the initial shock was wearing off or because she was trying so hard to remove all pressure she unintentionally caused by bringing up the topic, but the idea of being married to Madison didn't frighten him as much as he would've expected.

Meeting his perplexed expression and acknowledging it with an eye roll and a shake of her head, thinly veiling her own discomfort, Madison chuckled, "I know, I know. Women are crazy. You can just ignore me."

"We both know that ain’t gonna happen, crazy’r not," he teased with a small smile as he took her hand; both relaxing as they silently agreed to put their uncomfortable conversation behind them. The couple fell silent and Daryl pulled his eyes away from Madison and turned to look at the prison as his brain quickly shifted gears and his thoughts turned to the next day.

“Is going in there the right plan?” Madison asked quietly, following his gaze and looking at the walkers wandering the prison.

“If Rick’s right an’ the supplies’re still there it could be,” Daryl shrugged. “Guess there’s only one way t’find out.”

“I wish that weren’t true,” she whispered. After staring at the prison a few minutes more, Madison decided to test the waters and reached up and kissed his cheek, relieved that he didn’t shy away after she made it so awkward between them, “We should probably get back.” She let go of his hand and started trudging back to camp while he folded his arms and stayed where he was, still staring intently at the prison. “Something wrong?” she asked, rejoining him and seeing the worry in his face. Never taking his eyes off the prison, he shook his head slightly. “You were so excited about this plan earlier today.”

“That was b’fore I knew we was goin’ inside,” he explained, his deep voice so quiet that Madison had to strain to hear him.

Not quite following his meaning, she stood next to Daryl and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his shoulder, “Are you having second thoughts?”

He sighed as he unfolded his arms and put an arm around Madison, holding her close and seeking for the comfort her arms offered him. “Spent m’whole life b’fore all this tryin’ t’stay outta places like this; with Merle an’ m’dad ‘lways knew it was jus’ a matter of time b’fore I ended up in there like they did. An’ t’morrow I’m breakin’ inside.” Eventually Daryl pried his eyes off the prison and looked down at the woman next to him, grateful for the compassion he saw in her eyes. “Guess I was right all ‘long; ‘lways gonna end up in prison like all the other men in m’family.”

Madison took a moment to choose her words before speaking, “But this is different. You’re not like them; you’re better than them.”

“How d’ya know? Ya never met 'em.”

“I know,” she agreed, “but can you look me in the eye and honestly tell me Merle wouldn’t have let me die that morning? Would your dad have risked his life to save a little girl that wasn’t even his? I’m guessing not.”

He shook his head as he spoke, repulsion easily heard in his voice, “None of that matters. E’eryone ‘lways said ‘them Dixons’re all the same. Lazy, good fer nothin’-’”

“Cut that out! What those people said doesn’t matter; not then and certainly not now,” she reached under his poncho and caressed his back as she tried to soothe him. “I know you, Daryl. I’ve seen how you’re stepped up and helped the group get through the winter. We would have died without you. Maybe you were like them before; I don’t know, but I don’t think so. I think you’ve always wanted to be more and just never knew how because you never had any decent role models. Ironically, the end of the world has given you the chance to step up and you’ve taken it.” Madison smiled softly at him, wishing she knew how to break through the walls he’d built after thirty some-odd years of being told he was worthless and make him believe her. “No one is who they were a year ago and all I know, all I care about, is that I love the man standing next to me. He’s a good man; regardless of what he thinks of himself. Your past, who you were, doesn’t matter now. Not to me, not to Rick, not to Carol,” she finished with a slight chuckle, extracting a faint half-smile from Daryl before he cast his eyes back to the prison. “I know tomorrow is going to be hard for you, but you’re going in there for the good of the group; not as punishment for something you did. It’s nothing more than a building now; it doesn’t mean what it used to.”

“Still jus’ don’t seem right, ya know?” he asked, looking into her eyes again, begging her to understand.

She held him tighter, as though her embrace could take his pain away, and sighed, “I know. If it’s asking too much, we can go.”

“What?”

Meeting his confused gaze she continued, “You and I, we can go find someplace else. I don’t want to force you to-”

Daryl cut her off mid-sentence with a tender kiss, stopping her from finishing her touching, albeit insane, suggestion, “I’ll get over it, Buster. This ain’t worth killin’ ourselves over.”

Several more minutes passed as they stared at the prison before Madison broke the silence, “Come on, we really should head back.” Daryl shook his head again and the thought struck her that maybe he needed some space while he tried to work through his emotions. “Want me to stay with you?” she questioned, taking his hand; she knew the answer before she asked, but she wanted him to know that she wasn’t abandoning him to deal with this on his own.

“Nah, I’ll be right b’hind ya; jus’ need a minute.”

“Okay. Don’t be too long,” she pleaded, squeezing his hand before heading back to the campfire.

Daryl watched her return to the others as he pondered her kind words and tried to make himself believe them. Turning back to the prison, he forced himself to see it differently and mumbled under his breath, “It’s only a buildin’, same as any other. Don’t mean what it used t’.”

When Madison made it back to the fire, she was surprised to see that Beth and Carol were still awake. She considered walking away so she could avoid Carol, but she needed to find her jacket before she tried to sleep and it was lost somewhere in the mess of belongings strewn around the fire. “Is everythin’ okay?” Beth asked, “We heard shoutin’.”

With a groan, Madison gave up on finding her jacket and settled for the first one she could find and wearily sat down as she pulled on the oversized jacket. She gave the young girl an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that, you know how we are,” she joked, not wanting to give Carol the satisfaction of knowing she caused another fight between them after she noticed how intently Carol was tending to the fire, trying to hide the obvious fact that she was eavesdropping. “Yeah, everything’s fine; he’s just anxious about tomorrow,” she answered, purposefully being vague, knowing that Daryl would kill her if she mentioned what was really going on with him, “We all are, not knowing what’s inside.”

“I don’t blame him,” Beth replied, “It must be stressful tryin’ to keep everyone alive; for him and Rick. We wouldn’t be here without them.”

“You should tell him that sometime,” Madison suggested, knowing it would be harder for Daryl to disregard the truth if he heard it from someone other than her.

Carol glanced at Madison and prepared to stand, “Should someone go talk to him?”

“No, we talked. He just needs his space right now,” Madison answered as warmly as she could; trying her hardest to let go of what happened earlier in the evening. Carol acted very put out as she returned her attention to the fire and this plucked Madison’s last nerve where she was concerned. In an attempt to keep the peace, she stood up, “Well, I’m going to call it a night; big day today, big day tomorrow. I’m exhausted. Goodnight.”

Madison wandered a little ways away from the fire and laid down, staring blankly at the stars above her as she worried about Daryl, wishing she could do more for him. As she tried to relax her mind enough so she could sleep, she sang quietly to herself, passing the time. Not long after she settled in for the night, she felt someone lay down next to her and stopped singing.

“Ya don’t needa stop, keep singin’,” Daryl insisted, draping his poncho over the two of them, “Been ages since I heard ya sing.”

“That’s because you don’t like my singing,” she retorted, smiling up at the stars.

“Where the hell d’ya get that idea?”

Madison chuckled and answered, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “Oh gee, I don’t know Daryl. Maybe it was a couple of months ago when I was singing in the car and you told me to shut up or you’d shut me up.”

“Did I say that? Sure don’t sound like me; ya sure y’ain’t thinkin’ of Carl?”

“Yeah, you’re right, maybe I am,” she laughed, shaking her head at him, “The two of you are so similar, it’s easy to get confused.” Daryl’s deep chuckle caught Madison by surprise and she turned on her side to face him, “You sound like you’re doing better.”

He smiled at her, staring intently into her eyes as he put his arm around her and pulled her in for a kiss, letting her know without words how much she meant to him, “‘Cause I am.”

“I’m so glad,” she sighed with relief and she could feel herself relaxing, enjoying the security of his arm around her. “What changed?”

He shrugged, “Guess that pretty, redhead girl helped me see things lil’ differently.” Madison could feel herself blush and she buried her face against his chest; this was the first time he’d called her pretty and even though it sent a thrill through her, she wasn’t used to it and it embarrassed her. Daryl laughed quietly at her reaction and held her tighter, “How I survived b’fore I met ya, I’ll never know.”

“Neither will I,” she teased, listening to his heartbeat as she drifted off to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, life never goes as planned and likes to throw us curve-balls; I've had another surgery in my family and have spent an insane amount of time driving and had some incredibly long days and late nights. The point of my story is I'm sorry it took me so long to get an update up. Thank you all for putting up with me and the delays. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Madison’s heart raced as she stood next to Daryl waiting for Rick to open the gate and let the small group of six into the prison to try and fight their way inside. Whether or not she’d join in clearing the prison wasn’t even a question today, Rick included her in their plans from the beginning. Initially she was proud of her “promotion", but now, staring forward at the monsters lurching towards the fence, she had a difficult time remembering why she complained in the past about Rick telling her to hang back and watch the others.

“Ain’t too late t’stay back with the rest of 'em; no one'll think any less of ya,” Daryl muttered quietly enough that only she could hear when he glanced to his right and noticed the anxious way she kept adjusting her grip on her knife. “If y’ain’t up fer this-”

“I’m fine,” she cut him off with a cold glare, not appreciating him doubting her. “I just haven’t been on the front lines like this for a long time. I’m a little nervous, but I’ve got it. And you telling me I don't isn't helping.”

“Ya cleared the yard yesterday, whaddya mean it’s been a long time?” he scoffed, choosing to ignore her insistence that he didn't think she could handle taking the prison.

Irritated, Madison responded with a huff, “That was different. We had guns, we had people covering us. You were up in that tower watching-”

“I’m right here Maddie, I’m gonna cover ya,” Daryl replied, softening his tone and nudging her arm, trying to calm her down knowing that heightened nerves would interfere with her ability to think clearly and that was the worst thing that could happen right now. “It’s just like it was all winter; stay in formation an’ stay close t’me.”

She took a deep breath then nodded to him with a look of determination in her eyes, bracing herself when she heard Hershel ask Rick if they were ready. Rick nodded and paused briefly before throwing the gate open and leading the group inside as Hershel secured it behind them. Once they were inside the prison courtyard and the familiar snarls of the surrounding walkers reached her ears, adrenaline and muscle memory took over and Madison fell perfectly into formation with the rest creating a tight circle with backs facing the center. All traces of fear disappeared as she focused solely on their goal and held her own against the advancing walkers. Even though Daryl kept a protective eye on her as they made their way towards the prison, he was relieved to see her fall back into old habits and that she wasn't in over her head.

Clearing the courtyard went as smoothly as could be expected; they were outnumbered, but the assault was manageable. Everyone focused on the walkers coming directly at them, but kept an eye out for each other and called out warnings to those around them to alert them when a walker was headed their way. The group’s progress was slow, but thorough, as they moved across the small courtyard; making sure not to leave any walkers alive behind them. “Don’t break rank!” Madison whipped her head around when she heard Rick yell and watched T-Dog run for a police riot shield lying on the ground followed by Maggie who had to break from the group to take down a walker that was headed towards him. Madison rolled her eyes and focused in front of her again; although she agreed the shield could be useful, the courtyard was nearly cleared and it wasn’t worth T risking his life over. It would still be there when they were finished.

“Almost there,” Rick told the group as they continued to inch farther into the courtyard and Madison felt herself relax slightly; they still had a long way to go, but the light at the end of the tunnel was visible.

As they made their way around a stairwell, Madison walked backwards slowly, keeping her eyes trained behind the group to ensure nothing snuck up on them when their backs were turned. Out of nowhere Daryl roughly grabbed her arm and shoved her aside. Startled, she looked at him to ask what was going on, but he silenced her by putting his finger to his lips and nodding towards Rick. While Madison was walking backwards, she’d been completely unaware that Rick had stopped the group and motioned them to stand off to the side. She was confused for a moment until she saw several walkers in full riot gear stagger towards them and she realized Rick was trying to keep the group hidden. Daryl took several silent steps forward and shot a bolt at the nearest walker only to have it ricochet off the helmet on its head. “How do we kill them if we can’t get to the brain?” she asked him as he fell back and brandished his knife, preparing to attack.

He gave her a sidelong glance and shrugged, “Least they can’t bite us with them face guards.” Madison acknowledged his comment with a nod, taking comfort in his observation, before they both turned towards the oncoming monsters and charged.

A few walkers in prison jumpsuits started to fill the courtyard along with those in the riot gear and as crazy as it sounded, she was grateful for that fact; at least those were walkers they could deal with. Daryl and Rick fought their way forward and closed an open gate that lead to another portion of the courtyard to prevent more walkers from closing in on them as the rest futily bashed the walkers in riot gear. All Madison could do, all any of them could do, was take a swing at the nearest walker, which of course did no good, then shove it away and wait for it to come at her again so she could try another way of killing it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Maggie inches away from one of the walker’s faces; thinking she was in danger, Madison turned to help her. She came to a stop as she watched Maggie force the face guard up just enough to expose the walker’s neck and then jab her knife into the brainstem. The walker fell to the ground and Maggie looked from person to person, excitement radiating from her face, “See that?”

It felt counterintuitive, getting that hands-on with the walkers, but Maggie had figured out the only way to kill them and the rest of the group followed her lead, taking out the remaining walkers quickly. When the last walker fell to the ground, the group paused and looked for movement among the fallen bodies and took a minute to catch their breath. Daryl came and stood next to Madison and lightly touched her arm, staring at her intently. She met his questioning gaze and nodded, answering his silent question of whether or not she was okay. Glenn took one last look around the courtyard and starting jogging towards the rest of the group waiting with Hershel by the gate.

“Stop,” Rick ordered, bringing Glenn to a halt.

“Well, it looks secure,” Glenn countered, slightly confused as he rejoined Rick and the others.

“Not from the look of that courtyard over there,” Daryl pointed out as he gestured to the gate he and Rick closed earlier.

Madison looked from corpse to corpse and noticed a woman in street clothes and groaned, “Daryl, look at that one.”

“That’s a civilian,” he confirmed, directing everyone’s attention to the walker Madison pointed out.

“So the interior could be overrun with walkers from outside the prison,” T sighed.

“Well, if there’s walls down, what are we gonna do?” Glenn asked, frustrated that all their effort might be for nothing, “We can’t rebuild this whole place.”

“Maybe it’s not as bad as it looks. Maybe she was here trying to get them to let one of the inmates go when everything fell apart,” Madison interjected as she desperately grasped at any other explanation. She glanced at the dumbfounded expression on Daryl’s face and ran her hand through her hair, realizing how moronic her suggestion was, “You don't have to say anything; I know, I heard it. Never mind. So now what?”

Rick paused for a moment before speaking, “We can’t risk a blind spot. We have to push in.” With that, Rick led them into a stairwell that led inside the nearest cellblock. As she fell into step behind Daryl, Madison glanced at those waiting on the other side of the fence with confused expressions. She caught Lori’s eye and answered her silent question with a shrug and gestured to the cellblock with her knife, hoping that gave the others a little information to work with.

At the top of the stairs, Daryl waited for a signal from Rick before he opened the door. Seeing no walkers nearby, Rick lowered his machete as he stepped inside and opened the secondary door that led directly into some sort of common area or mess hall, Madison wasn’t sure which. The group descended the stairs as quietly as possible as their eyes adjusted to the dim light; there were no walkers that they could see, but everyone stayed on high alert as they fanned out and covered the room while Rick climbed the stairs to the guard tower. A few minutes slowly passed before Rick signaled to Daryl that all was well and held up the keys he found on a dead guard. Seeing that Rick was all right, Madison breathed a sigh of relief; they were one step closer to their goal.

Rick rejoined the group and led them to the door separating the room they were in from the cellblock and unlocked it as quietly as he could. Daryl went in first and the others trickled in behind him, investigating each cell and every corner to make certain there were no walkers in sight. Daryl and Rick checked the upper level of cells while the rest continued to secure the main level. A few cells had corpses in them and Madison took it upon herself to go in and check each one to make sure they really were dead. A loud snarl and the rattling of cell doors cut through the silence making her jump. Panic shot through her and without hesitation and fueled by instinct, she plunged her knife into the brain of the body she was examining only to realize that the noise was coming from above her. She held her empty hand to her forehead as she steadied her nerves before continuing down the row and finishing checking the bodies in the cells.

When Rick was satisfied that the cellblock was secure, Maggie and Glenn ran outside to bring the rest of the group in while T, Rick, Daryl, and Madison cleared the walkers out of the cells. Just as the rest came through in the door, Madison and Daryl shoved the last body from the top level over the railing down to T who dragged it against the wall and out of the way. Tired from lifting the walkers, Madison stopped and leaned against the railing to catch her breath and watch the reactions of the group as they walked in. “What do you think?” Rick asked them as they entered the cellblock.

“Home sweet home,” Glenn answered sarcastically.

“For the time bein’,” Rick replied, pleased with himself for getting the group this far.

Lori looked around as she trailed behind Glenn, “It’s secure?”

“This cellblock is,” Rick answered her, actually making eye contact with his wife. Madison smiled as she watched this subtle interaction between them; Rick had every right to be struggling with everything that happened between Lori and Shane and what it forced Rick to do, but she was glad to see that maybe their relationship could be repaired now that the group could stop running.

“What about the rest of the prison?” Hershel asked.

“In the mornin’, we’ll find the cafeteria and infirmary,” Rick replied.

“We sleep in the cells?” Beth asked, sounding less than thrilled with the idea.

Madison had to hold back a laugh; she wasn’t excited at the prospect either, but a bed was a bed and that’s all she cared about at the moment. “It won’t be that bad, Beth. Just close your eyes and pretend you’re at the Four Seasons,” she called down, teasing the younger girl, “Just don’t look at the walls. Or the floor. Just don’t look.”

“I found keys on some guards. Daryl has a set, too,” Rick informed everyone.

“I ain’t sleepin’ in no cage,” Daryl grumbled to Madison, his voice echoing through the cellblock. “I’ll take the perch,” he announced louder, marking his territory.

“It’s all yours, I don’t think anyone’s going to fight you for it,” she chuckled as she squeezed past him to run downstairs and grab their stuff that the others kindly brought in for them. They didn’t have much, just a couple of extra shirts each they'd picked up on the run, their winter jackets, Daryl’s poncho, and one threadbare blanket that all fit in an old canvas potato sack they shared. It was easier this way when constantly on the run; the fewer items they had the faster the getaway could be when, inevitably, they were forced to run again. She paused and looked at their meager belongings in her hand and tried to wrap her brain around the fact that their days of running might be over.

Before she reached the stairs to head up to her cell for the night, Rick quietly called out to her, bringing her to a stop. “Madison, I know today couldn’t have been easy for you, gettin’ tossed right in the middle of a big fight like that without any time to get back in the swing of things, but I want you to know how much I appreciate it. We wouldn’t have made it in here without you. Same goes for yesterday.”

She glanced down at the bag in her hands, taken aback by Rick’s praise, “I don’t know about that. You guys seemed to have it under control, I didn’t do that much.”

“You did what you needed to and that let everyone else do what they needed to; I hope you’re plainnin’ on goin’ with us tomorrow.”

“If that’s where you need me, of course,” she answered with a nod.

Rick returned her nod and left to lock the cellblock door for the night. Stunned by their exchange, Madison made her way up the stairs and fished Daryl’s poncho out of the bag then handed it to him once she reached the landing. “What’d Rick want?” Daryl asked, taking the poncho from her outstretched hand.

“Looks like I’m coming with you guys tomorrow morning,” she answered over her shoulder as she walked into the nearest cell and tossed their bag onto the floor. Daryl acknowledged her answer with a grunt as he lay down on the floor and balled his poncho up under his head as a makeshift pillow in a futile attempt to get comfortable. “What are you doing?” Madison asked, leaning against the cell door.

“Tap dancin’,” he grumbled, trying to block the light by covering his eyes with his arm.

“You don’t have to sleep in a cell, I get why you don’t want to, but at least take a mattress.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

With an exasperated sigh, Madison murmured under her breath, “Stupid, stubborn man.” Deciding not to take no for an answer, she walked into her cell and started pulling the mattress down from the top bunk.

Daryl heard her grunting and the bed frame rattling and peeked at her from under his arm, not surprised to see her fighting with the mattress. With a groan, he pushed himself up and ambled into the cell to help her. “An’ ya call me stubborn?” he asked, giving her a sidelong glance and lifting the mattress.

She chuckled and nodded as they got the mattress down and carried out of the cell and laid it on the perch. “You’ll thank me in the morning,” she said with a smile, watching Daryl nod in approval as he sat down on it. Madison took a seat next to him and they sat in silence for a moment, watching the others find their cells and settle in for the night. After a few more minutes of Daryl staring blankly ahead, she turned to him and rubbed his back, “You’re quiet tonight; how’re you doing, tough guy?”

“Yer safe, ain’t ya?” he asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye, “Got a roof over yer head?”

“Yeah,” Madison answered hesitantly, removing her hand from his back and dropping her eyes. She couldn’t read his tone and by the way he worded his questions she worried he resented her and saw her as the reason he was stuck living in a prison.

“Then I ain’t been this good in months,” he responded, finally turning to her and offering her a self-satisfied, albeit exhausted, half-smile as he took her hand. Madison exhaled slowly, relieved to see his small smile, and squeezed his hand. Their eyes met as his body relaxed and she watched a weight be lifted from his shoulders.

A peaceful smile covered her face as she rested her head on his shoulder; there were moments, like this one, that filled her soul with a joy she couldn't put into words. Daryl loved her, she knew that, and even though he didn't often say it with words, he told her every day through his actions. Watching the stress leave his eyes as he realized he finally could keep her safe, Madison was overwhelmed by how strongly and deeply he loved her; although she often wondered what she'd done to deserve it, she couldn't deny how incredible it was to be loved solely for who she was, no strings attached. Tears of happiness threatened to fall as she compared where she was now to where she was a year ago; even though life as she'd known it had come to a screeching halt, she was happier now than she could ever remember being before. She blinked the tears back and couldn't stop herself from slowly turning his face to hers and giving him a heartfelt kiss. "I love you so much," she said in a breathy whisper after she pulled back and met his clear blue eyes.

Daryl sheepishly broke eye contact and looked down, the corners of his lips turning up in a small, self-conscious smile. Madison knew how uncomfortable he could still be vocalizing his emotions, so in an attempt to ease his discomfort she rarely told him she loved him. While he enjoyed hearing it on those rare occasions, taking comfort in her confirming what he already knew, sometimes he still didn’t know how to respond so he’d get embarrassed and tongue tied. “So ya sleepin’ here or not?” he asked somewhat gruffly, trying to cover up his moment of vulnerability as he laid down on the mattress.

Madison suppressed a smile as the roughness in his voice was contradicted by the tender way he ran his hand up and down her arm as he waited for her answer. She looked down at him and shook her head, amused by the disappointment in his eyes. “As tempting as that sounds, I haven’t slept on a bed since you got shot so I’m going to go with not and sleep in my cell. Sorry.”

His eyes narrowed as he stared at her and smacked the mattress, “Whaddya call this?”

“A crappy mattress on the floor?” she teased, throwing him a sarcastic smirk.

“Smartass.”

A quiet giggle slipped out as she bent down and quickly kissed him goodnight, “You know where to find me if you get lonely.”

“Don’t hold yer breath,” he muttered with a gleam in his eye as he teased her.

Shaking her head, Madison started to stand up, but as she did so Daryl tightened his grip on her arm, holding her back. She glared at him as he gave her an overly innocent expression and she tried to stand up again, only to be held down again. “But Daryl...bed,” she whined, feebly pleading her case. She abruptly tried to stand once more, hoping the sharp movement would catch Daryl off guard and break his grasp. Amused by her continued efforts, he smirked at her as he effortlessly held her in place. Knowing she wasn’t going to win, she caved and laid down next to him, grumbling “Jerk,” as she settled in for the night.

“Thought y’were gonna sleep on a bed?” he teased, feigning surprise as she joined him.

“I am...in a minute,” she sourly replied, seeing the smug look on his face, “I’m not staying here because of you, so you can wipe that stupid smirk off your face.”

Daryl’s quiet chuckle resonated in his chest as he brushed her hair back off her face and his eyes scanned the scar over her right eye from where she hit her head over the winter. Remembering how close he came to losing her, in more ways than one, he felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude that she chose to give him a second chance. He tried to imagine who he'd be or where life would've taken him if they'd never met or if, God forbid, she had never woken up when she passed out, but he couldn't imagine it; she'd become such a crucial part of his life he felt as though he would cease to exist if she wasn't with him. He inhaled sharply as the full weight of this terrifying and awe-inspiring realization hit him. With a soft expression he watched the woman he loved as her eyes slowly shut and her breathing deepened. “Sure y’ain’t,” he teased, pulling her from the brink of sleep.

“Shut up, Daryl,” she mumbled, half asleep, as she half-heartedly shoved him.

Early the next morning, Maggie, Glenn, and Madison went back outside to the courtyard to see if there was anything useful they could take off the walkers in the riot gear, their hope being that they’d find some weapons on them. They found a few weapons and Madison started throwing what she could in a sack. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Maggie and Glenn taking the gear off the walkers; disgusted as she watched a year’s worth of rotten flesh ooze off the body armor, she asked, “What are you guys doing? No sane person is going to wear that garbage.”

“I think I might,” Maggie answered.

“Me too,” Glenn agreed, although the slight green tint to his complexion told a different story. “Besides, what’s a little walker juice if it keeps us from getting bit?”

Madison stared at the pair of them in utter disbelief and shook her head, "Do what you want. My thing is we’ve all got cuts and scratches and what if some of that...walker juice...gets in a fresh cut? Wouldn’t that be the same as a bite?”

“I didn’t think of that,” Maggie mumbled quietly, staring at the helmet in her hands, “We should still take them inside, just in case. We can clean them somehow I’m sure.”

“Personally, I wouldn’t go near that stuff even if you boiled it in bleach,” Madison insisted as she stood and hoisted her bag of weapons over her shoulder, “But like I said, do what you want. We should probably get back soon. Let’s take one last sweep around out here then head inside.” Glenn and Maggie nodded in agreement then took a final look around, gathering a few more weapons, a couple of flashlights, and miscellaneous pieces of body armor before heading back to the group. “Special delivery,” Madison called as they entered the common room outside the cellblock.

“Where the hell’ve ya been?” Daryl shouted as he rounded the corner and met them, his narrowed eyes never leaving Madison.

“And that’s our cue; come on, let’s get out of here,” Glenn whispered to Maggie and they quickly dropped what they had in their arms onto a table and rushed out of the room, not wanting to get caught in the middle of another couple’s fight.

Madison rolled her eyes at Daryl and emptied her bag on the table next to the body armor Maggie and Glenn set down. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I needed to get permission before going somewhere,” she snidely replied, “Now for next time is verbal authorization enough or do I need you to sign a permission slip?”

“Don’t get smart with me; I woke up an’ y’were gone, Maddie! Nobody had a clue where y’went an’ this place ain’t safe yet,” Daryl growled, his angry expression doing little to hide the worry in his eyes.

Fighting the urge to yell back at him and insisting that she could take care of herself, she took a moment to calm down before responding. She could see where he was coming from and didn’t want to go deeper into the prison while they were fighting; neither of them needed the distraction. With a sigh, she reached for his shoulder; he tensed and refused to make eye contact, but didn’t pull away so she took a breath and explained as she gently took hold of his hand with her free hand, “After weeks of not sleeping you were finally asleep and I wasn't about to wake you up sooner than necessary. Honestly, I thought you'd still be asleep when we got back and wouldn't have even noticed that I'd left. I wasn't running off alone, I was with a group; it was supposed to be just a quick run outside, but it took longer than we thought it would because we found all this great stuff that will help us today. I’ll do better at letting you know when I’m leaving. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Ya didn’t,” Daryl muttered, finally meeting her contrite eyes and shaking off her comment, trying to act as though he hadn’t been scared. “Yer a grownass woman, ya can do what y’want; jus’ keep me in the loop,” he whispered as he pulled her to him and held her tightly, reassuring himself that she was safe.

Someone cleared their throat from the doorway to the cellblock and Daryl immediately dropped his arms and released Madison, embarrassed that someone caught him with his emotions on display. He was fine with the others seeing him being affectionate towards her on his terms; he didn’t like someone walking in on them when his guard was down. “There’ll be plenty of time for that later,” Rick joked, taking great pleasure in making Daryl uncomfortable, as he walked into the room followed by Hershel and T-Dog, “but Glenn told us to come check out what you guys found; said you found some weapons.”

“Yeah, we did. Weapons, flashlights, body armor…although I don’t recommend using it. It’s all on the table. Let me know when we’re ready to leave,” she told Rick as she made her way to the door. She paused at the doorway and glanced back to Daryl, casting an apologetic look his way, wanting him to know she was sorry for worrying him and sorry for the teasing from Rick he had to endure.

Daryl’s eyes darted to Madison’s face as she walked towards the door before he turned to inspect the bounty they brought in from the courtyard. “Not bad,” he admitted, glancing at Madison and nodding as he went through everything she found. A proud smile spread across her face as she walked into the cellblock; she knew it shouldn’t matter, but it made her happy when he was impressed with her. Moments after she left, Daryl’s voice rang through the prison, “I ain’t wearin’ this shit.” She looked back at him over her shoulder and saw the revolted look on his face as he examined one of the helmets Maggie took off a walker.

‘And this is why we’re good together,’ she thought to herself as she continued walking, laughing quietly that she and Daryl had the same reaction to the riot gear taken from the walkers. Her laughter stopped abruptly as she heard crying coming from inside one of the cells. She followed the sound and found Lori sitting on a bed, arms wound tightly around herself with tears streaming down her face. "Lori, what happened?" Madison gasped, inviting herself in and taking a seat next to the crying woman, putting her arm around Lori’s shaking shoulders.

It took Lori several minutes to compose herself enough to answer Madison. "I think I lost the baby," she whispered, finally meeting Madison's concerned gaze.

The mental image of the baby walker in the drawer at the storage units flashed across Madison's mind and she forced herself to stay composed for Lori's sake. "I'm sure you haven't, everything will be okay. Let me go get Hershel," she replied in as reassuring of a tone as she could manage. Daryl's cruel, but accurate, description of what the baby could do to Lori if it turned inside her rang in Madison's ears; she was haunted by the picture he painted and her only hope was that Lori hadn't heard his tirade that night.

"Why do you need Hershel?" Carol asked, overhearing their conversation. Lori was looking down at the floor in front of her, wringing her hands, and Carol took the opportunity to catch Madison’s eye, without Lori seeing, and mouthed, “The baby?”

Madison shrugged as she silently whispered, “Maybe.” She looked away from Carol and glanced at Lori again; she’d stopped crying for the time being, much to Madison’s relief. “Will you do me a favor and grab Hershel for her?” she asked Carol quietly, hoping that the bad blood between them wouldn’t stop Carol from helping Lori, even though she was the one that asked.

“Just Hershel. I don’t want Rick to know what’s going on. Not yet. Not until I’m sure,” Lori piped up, giving Carol a pleading look.

With a nod, Carol replied before leaving, “I understand, I’ll grab him.”

“Are you sure you don’t want Rick here when you talk to Hershel?” Madison asked Lori with a sympathetic smile, “I mean, after all he is the father-“

“I don’t know that for sure and the last thing I need is him in here hoping I did lose the baby so all his problems would be over," Lori shot back, throwing an icy stare at Madison.

Taken aback by Lori's reaction, Madison struggled to think of something to say, "He won't be like that; everything he's done all winter, getting us into the prison even, it's all been so you can have a safe place to have this baby. This is just a rough patch for you two. Now that we're not running, he won't be as stressed and he'll come around."

"It's sweet that you think that," Lori whispered with a humorless chuckle.

Before Madison could respond, Hershel stepped into the cell and took a seat. He smiled warmly at Lori, "Carol tells me there's a problem with your baby?"

"I should give you two some privacy," Madison mumbled, standing to leave.

Lori caught hold of Madison's wrist, making her turn around. "Stay. Please," Lori begged with an urgent whisper. Madison paused and looked at Lori with confusion in her eyes. "You've done more and risked more for me and this baby than anyone else," Lori explained, "Please."

"Of course I'll stay," Madison quietly replied as she took her seat next to Lori again.

"Tell me what's goin' on," Hershel pressed, gently redirecting the women's attention to the issue at hand.

With a heavy sigh, Lori braced herself as she prepared for the conversation with the group's medic; believing that it wasn’t going to end well, "It's the baby. I think I lost it."

“You haven’t felt it move?” Hershel asked, leaning in slightly and doing his best to hide his concern.

“Nothing,” Lori replied in a shaky voice, “And no Braxton-Hicks. At first I thought it was exhaustion or malnutrition.”

“You’re anemic?” Hershel guessed as he did his best to formulate answers through the limited information available.

Lori pulled her eyes away from him and looked to the ground as she nodded weakly, answering his questions. Unable to meet either Madison’s or Hershel’s eyes, she continued to stare forward blankly as she spoke, “If we’re all infected then so’s the baby. So what if it’s stillborn? What if it’s dead inside me right now? What if it rips me apart?”

Madison’s eyes went wide as she listened to Lori regurgitate Daryl’s callous rantings confirming what she feared all along, that she had heard him that night. “Where did you get that idea?” Madison whispered as she swallowed the frustration she felt toward Daryl rising inside of her, “You overheard Daryl that night at the storage units, didn’t you?”

“Of course I heard him, we all did.”

“I’m so sorry! You’ve just got to ignore him, Lori,” Madison insisted, trying to undo the damage Daryl’s words had caused after months of festering in Lori’s mind, “There’s no way he could know something like that. We were fighting and he was trying to hurt me; he didn’t mean it.”

Finally, Lori looked up and turned to face Madison, “The thing is it doesn’t matter why he said it or if he meant it or not; he’s right. If the baby is dead, it’s going to turn. That’s a fact and when that happens I’m dead too and we don’t know how long it will take for a baby to turn. It could be hours. It could be minutes. It could-”

“Stop,” Hershel interrupted, trying to stop Lori before she slipped into a full blown panic, “Don’t let your fear take control of you.”

“Okay,” Lori muttered, taking a breath, “Then let’s say it lives and I die during childbirth.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Hershel insisted.

“Why not?” Lori countered, fear evident in her eyes. Madison put her arm around Lori’s shoulders again, not sure what else she should do. “How many women died in childbirth before modern medicine?” Lori asked Hershel in an attempt to make him face facts, “If I come back, what if I attack it? Or you? Or Rick? Or Carl? If I do, if there is any chance, you put me down immediately. You don’t hesitate. Me, the baby,” her voice cracked as she vocalized the concerns that had been plaguing her mind for months, “If we’re walkers, you don’t hesitate and you don’t try to save us. Okay?”

Hershel looked at Lori for a moment before solemnly nodding his head in agreement while Madison stared at him in disbelief, wondering how he could just sit there without trying to assure Lori that everything would be all right. “It’s not going to come to that, both you and the baby are going to be fine,” Madison responded; she knew Lori was right and her fears were founded firmly in reality, but she felt strongly that Lori needed someone to tell her everything could work out, even though the odds were against them.

“Madison, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but there’s no way you can know something like that,” Lori replied before shaking her head and mumbling, “It might have been better if-”

“If what?” Hershel asked, not liking Lori’s defeated tone.

“If I’d never made it off the farm,” she answered, fighting back a new wave of tears.

Madison gasped, “You don’t mean that!”

“You’re exhausted, frightened,” Hershel chimed in.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Lori admitted, looking at Hershel once again, “My son can’t stand me. And my husband, after what I put him through…”

Hershel glanced to the floor and sighed, “We’ve all been carrying that weight. All winter.”

“I tried to talk to him. He…” Lori’s sentence trailed off as it got lost in her tears.

“He’ll come around,” Hershel promised.

Lori answered with a humorless chuckle as she gestured to the woman sitting next her, “You sound like her.”

Madison gave Lori a sympathetic smile, “He will. I can tell Rick still loves you-”

“He hates me,” Lori cut Madison off. “He’s too good a man to say it, but I know.” Her lip started to quiver as she continued before dissolving into tears, “I put him and Shane at odds. I put that knife in his hand.” Madison rubbed Lori’s back in a futile attempt to calm her down as she cried harder; Lori was releasing months of suppressed guilt and worries and Madison knew the best way for her to feel better was to simply let it all out.

“You know who doesn’t give a shit about that?” Hershel asked Lori with a kind smile, “This baby. Now let’s make sure everythin’s all right.” A small laugh escaped Lori’s lips at Hershel’s uncharacteristic use of strong language as she nodded in agreement at him.

A low whistle caught Madison’s attention and she whipped her head around to find Daryl staring at her with troubled eyes. “Sorry, I need to see what he needs,” Madison murmured, nodding towards Daryl, “I’ll be right outside if you need anything, okay?” Lori gave her a grateful smile as she turned to leave.

“Came t’tell ya we’re leavin’ soon. What’s goin’ on with Lori? She ‘lright?” Daryl asked Madison in a hoarse whisper when she reached him, looking past her at Lori and Hershel.

Madison caught his eye for a moment before dropping her gaze to the floor and shaking her head. “She heard you,” she muttered under her breath, folding her arms.

“Huh?”

“Lori. She heard you that night back at the lockers when we bro…” Madison paused; her eyes darted back to Daryl’s and she couldn’t make herself finish her original statement so she quickly reworded her comment, “when you said her baby was going to tear her apart from the inside out. And now she thinks she lost the baby; Hershel’s checking her out to find out if she’s right or not.”

“She heard?” Daryl asked, his voice quiet and filled with remorse. Running his hands over his face, he continued, “Dammit, I’s jus’ blowin’ smoke; ain’t like I knew what the hell I’s talkin’ ‘bout.” His eyes landed on Madison’s anxious, despondent face; he knew he should be more concerned by Lori and how she was doing, but seeing Madison’s expression he worried that she was upset with him for being so careless with his words. “I never wanted t’hurt ‘er,” he explained, trying to plead his case to the woman standing in front of him.

Seeing the guilt he felt in his eyes, Madison reached for his hand and held it tightly, “I know, Daryl.”

“Think I needa talk t’ ‘er?”

“No, at least not now. Until the baby is born nothing anyone can say will calm her down. Hershel was trying to convince her everything will be okay, but I don’t think she believed him. Maybe when she’s a little less emotional you can try,” Madison suggested, “Anything you say now she’ll just ignore.”

Daryl dropped her hand and shot her an irritated look, “S’why did ya tell me if I can’t fix it?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself and looking down again to avoid his piercing eyes, “It just seemed like something you should know in case someone says something about it to you later on.”

With a grunt and a sharp nod, Daryl accepted Madison’s thought process and turned his attention back to Lori who was still in the cell talking to Hershel. He nervously licked his lips before calling to her, “Lori, I ain’t no doctor, I could be wrong.”

Surprised, Lori looked at him and gave him a sad smile, “I wish that was true, but I think we both know you’re right about this.”

Daryl shifted his weight from leg to leg, uncomfortable with the situation and ashamed that his mouth got the better of him yet again, and couldn’t meet Lori’s eyes any longer. “Sorry,” he mumbled before scurrying away, eager to distance himself from the mess he’d caused.

Madison followed him and grabbed hold of his arm to keep him from running away from her, “Daryl, look at me.” He reluctantly turned to face her and forced himself to meet her golden-brown eyes. The self-loathing written across his features made Madison’s voice catch in her throat; he was always so hard on himself and it broke her heart watching him punish himself like this. “I was wrong,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her, hoping she could counteract the mental thrashing he was surely giving himself, “Thank you for talking to her.”

“Didn’t change nothin’,” he scoffed in return; he refused to return her hug believing he didn’t deserve the kindness and understanding she, once again, was showing him. “She’s still scared outta ‘er mind an' I’m still the asshole that can’t keep 'is mouth shut.”

“Everyone says stuff they regret. You did the right thing and did what you could to make amends. No one can ask any more of you, okay?” Madison stared in Daryl’s eyes, searching for any sign that her words were sinking in. She brushed his hair off his forehead and whispered with a small smile, “Now will you please stop beating yourself up and save it for the walkers?”

A small, half-hearted laugh escaped his lips before his face fell again and he stared blankly over Madison's shoulder. Several minutes passed in silence as Daryl digested her words before he finally encircled her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Better go grab some of them weapons ya found b’fore the good ones’re all gone,” he said abruptly, desperate to change the subject, as he led her by the hand through the group preparing to leave and into the other room, away from Lori and the pain he’d caused her.

“Looks like they got all this junk clean,” Madison noted as she picked up and inspected the last bullet-proof vest left on the table, gagging and dropping it when she got a whiff of the rancid smell of rotten flesh caught in the fabric, “Sort of.”

Daryl watched her reaction and tried to hide a smirk, “Ya thinkin’ of wearing that shit?”

“You’re joking, right?” Madison asked with an incredulous chuckle, “You couldn’t pay me enough to strap this crap on my body.”

“Don’t see the point of it anyway, t’be honest; here, take these,” he instructed, handing Madison a handgun and silencer, “Walkers ain’t gonna bite yer torso; they’ll get yer legs an’ arms. Won’t do nothin’ fer ‘em.”

“Fat lot of good it did those cops outside,” she agreed as she checked the rounds left in the gun Daryl just handed her and glanced over her shoulder back into the cellblock as the others strapped on the body armor. “But if it makes them feel safer, I guess there’s no harm in it.” An unfamiliar object caught her eye and she picked it up to read the label. “Flashbang? What’s this; some kind of grenade?” she asked, handing it to Daryl.

He took it from her and examined it before answering, “Yeah, looks like it. Might as well take it, just in case.”

“It’s a stun grenade,” Rick’s voice came out of nowhere, answering Madison’s question as he approached the pair and making her jump.

Once her pulse returned to normal, she asked, “What does it do?”

“Just like the name says; flashes and bangs. Very brightly and very loudly,” Rick replied. “It should distract walkers; at least I think it would. Light and noise, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work on them. Just make sure to let anyone around you know if you’re gonna use it so they can close their eyes and cover their ears; won’t do us much good if you blind the group in the middle of a swarm.” Madison nodded as she tucked it away, silently wishing she hadn’t asked about it and feeling slightly uncomfortable having something so powerful with her. “We’re all set to head out whenever you two are ready,” Rick added.

Daryl glanced at Madison, asking if she was done; she nodded as she grabbed a flashlight. “Jus’ need m’bow an’ we’re ready.”

In less than ten minutes, Rick and Daryl led the same group that cleared the courtyard, with the addition of Hershel, out of their secured part of the prison and into the dark maze of hallways. They moved slowly and as quietly as they could, pausing before rounding each corner and pressing farther into the unknown. Bodies littered the floor and Madison couldn’t tell if they were partially eaten or simply decomposing. As they made their way down a hall lined with cells she scanned each room as they passed, half expecting a walker to lunge at them from the shadows. A strange hissing sound cut through the silence making her gasp and grab Daryl’s arm tightly. She whipped her head around, trying to figure out where the noise had come from and saw Glenn staring at her standing next to an arrow pointing back the way they came and holding a can of spray paint. She shook her head as she tried to get a hold of herself and turned around to see Daryl glaring at her with a less than amused expression on his face, his normally light blue eyes dark in the dim light. “Sorry,” she mumbled in a barely audible whisper, still clinging to his arm. He looked down at her hand and then back up to her face, rolling his eyes at her when she finally released him.

The group continued their surprisingly walker-free journey and with each turn Madison became more and more anxious waiting for the inevitable onslaught. A shriek brought everyone to a halt as they spun around ready to help whoever was in trouble. Maggie was breathing heavily and Glenn had his hand on her shoulder, trying to put her at ease after she ran into him in the dark and startled herself. “Women,” Daryl grumbled under his breath as they moved forward once again.

Nothing changed the deeper they went into the prison; Glenn still painted arrows on the walls so they could find their way out, dead bodies were still covering the ground, and there were still no walkers to be found. Daryl peered around a corner which led to a short hallway and motioned for the rest to follow while he and Rick inched forward and checked the next corner. As they rounded the corner a group of walkers turned towards the light of their flashlights and started moving towards them. “Go back! Go back! Move!” Rick called in a loud whisper, backing up.

“Walkers! Maddie, stay close!” Daryl ordered, putting himself between Madison and the approaching danger. Everyone scrambled backwards and as soon as they could, Rick and Daryl made it to the front of the group again with Madison close behind. “This way,” Daryl yelled when he found a clear hallway for them to escape through.

Glenn and Maggie were bringing up the rear and didn’t see where everyone else turned down the hallway and ran past it. Madison looked over her shoulder and noticed they were missing. She pushed past T-Dog and Hershel and went back the way they came to find them and bring them back to the safety of the group. She found them running towards her with a cluster of walkers on their tail. “This way, you guys! Come on!” she yelled, pushing them in front of her and plunging her knife into the eye of the nearest walker, “They turned right up there, run!”

The three of them chased after the rest of the group with Madison several steps behind Maggie and Glenn. As they turned the corner Maggie saw the others run past an opening to another hallway and shouted, “I seem them! Go straight!” She and Glenn reached the hallway the others ran past and stopped short as more walkers came down the hallway and towards them. Madison turned the corner just as Maggie and Glenn spun around and took cover behind the first door they could find.

Suddenly on her own, with walkers coming at her from both directions, and nowhere to run, Madison’s eyes darted around the hall for another door to hide behind, but found none. Fighting back panic as the growling got closer she spotted a large piece of metal that used to be a tabletop lying on the ground behind her. She grabbed it and dropped into a ball on the floor of the nearest corner and held the tabletop over her like a shield.

As she tried to catch her breath she closed her eyes while her mind raced searching for a way out of her predicament; she was alive and safe for now, but she’d trapped herself and the constant beating on the tabletop re-enforced her fear that the walkers surrounding her weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. She opened her eyes, looked up, and screamed when she saw a walker forcing its head into the small gap between the wall and the tabletop. Quickly, she maneuvered herself so she could reach her knife and killed the monster before it got any closer. The relentless knocking was starting to get to her and she could feel herself starting to panic again; she forced herself to keep breathing and focused her mental energy on finding a way to escape. Movement from above caught her attention and her eyes went wide as she saw a rotting hand wrap around the edge of the tabletop and start to pull.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for the support, comments, and kudos. I'm terrible at replying to comments, but I hope to do better. Just know that your kind words mean the world to me; thank you. Nothing has changed, I do not own any part of TWD or its characters, I only own Madison.

It took everything Madison had not to scream for help; she knew no one was close enough to hear her and that screaming would only rile up the already agitated walkers even more. A terrified whimper escaped her lips as she sacrificed her two handed grip on the tabletop, feeling it give way slightly as she started hacking away at the hand pulling her protection away from her. She didn’t have the visibility or mobility to methodically attack the hand and had to settle for haphazardly chopping off what she could, however she could, as she struggled to hold on to the tabletop one handed, showering herself with blood and chunks of flesh in the process.

As she fought to change positions in the tight space she felt something fall from her pocket and glanced down to see what it was. A ray of hope broke through the grim situation Madison found herself in when her eyes fell on the flashbang lying next to her on the ground. With a trembling hand, she quickly snatched it off the floor and stared at it at a loss as to how to set it off. The tabletop shifted despite her death grip with her left hand telling her she was running out of time; desperately she yanked out the pin with her teeth and tossed the flashbang out the small opening above her head, praying it would distract the walkers like Rick predicted. “Grenade!” she feebly called out, remembering Rick’s warning, on the off chance anyone was within earshot. She squeezed her eyes shut and used her shoulder and free hand to cover her ears as she waited an excruciatingly long five seconds for the explosion. After the flashbang went off, she waited for a moment to give the walkers time to wander away from her before risking peeking over the tabletop. She stared in amazement at how well it worked as it sunk in that she had a real chance of getting away unscathed. The majority of the walkers were stumbling away blindly in search of the source of the explosion, it seemed the flash blinded the dead as well as the living, leaving only a few stragglers between her and her way out. As she slowly rose to her feet, she silently picked up the tabletop and used it to shove the nearest three walkers against the wall, pinning them in place allowing her to easily take them out with her knife.

Now that an escape route was cleared, she dropped the tabletop and sprinted in the opposite direction, disappearing before the sound drew the walkers to her again. When she felt she’d put a reasonably safe distance between herself and the walkers, Madison slowed down slightly and focused more on staying quiet as she frantically searched for any sign of the rest of the group, hoping and praying they were all right. As she followed a path that seemed vaguely familiar, she saw no sign of the others and, even worse to her mind, she didn’t hear them either; she could understand not seeing them in the darkness, but the fact that she couldn’t hear them frightened her and her mind started bombarding her with images of worst case scenarios. Her anxieties over the welfare of the group, of Daryl in particular, grew the longer she went without any clues as to their whereabouts and she picked up speed again as she tore through the corridors. She came to a corner and skidded to a stop, flattening herself against the wall in an attempt to stay hidden. She cringed as she kicked some debris on the floor, giving away her position. Realizing that going back the way she came wasn’t an option; she steadied herself and prepared to face whatever was waiting for her on the other side of the wall. Knife at the ready, she whipped around the corner and came face to face with a loaded crossbow. "Don't shoot!" she yelped in a panic, thinking only about distinguishing herself from the walkers.

“Maddie," Daryl exhaled with relief as he lowered his bow and cupped her face with his free hand, "I's callin' ya; didn't ya hear me?" Madison answered him by slowly shaking her head, noticing the ringing in her ears for the first time as she struggled to hear him speak; the flashbang was louder than she’d realized. “I told ya t’stay close!” he barked, lashing out to cover up how frightened he’d been. His eyes narrowed as he studied her bloodstained face; with a sigh, his expression softened and he wrapped his arm around her, drawing her closer, and whispered in her ear, “What the hell were ya thinkin’ runnin’ away like that? What happened t’ya?”

Before Madison could respond, Daryl’s ears perked up at the sound of approaching walkers. “Shit!” he exclaimed, pushing Madison in front of him so he wouldn’t lose sight of her again, “C’mon Maddie, we gotta go!” The two of them jogged through the maze of hallways with Madison in the lead, following the directions Daryl shouted at her as they ran. An agonized scream pierced the air, stopping Daryl in his tracks. He grabbed Madison’s arm and pulled her down the nearest hallway and followed the screams, his blood running cold knowing that nothing good could come from cries like these.

As they rounded a corner a gunshot rang out and Madison’s jaw dropped as she took in the sight of Rick lowering his gun staring at a walker with a fresh bullet hole in his head holding Hershel’s bloody leg. Her eyes fell on the gaping wound in Hershel’s calf and the realization that he’d been bitten crashed over her like a wave. She choked back a sob and whimpered, “No. No, no, no; this can’t be happening.”

“No! Daddy, no!” Maggie’s anguished cry echoed in the dark hallway over Hershel’s screams and Madison forced her own emotions in check so she could focus and do what needed to be done to help Hershel.

Glenn and Rick struggled to lift Hershel and carry him to safety. “Daryl!” Rick yelled over the pandemonium as several walkers staggered into view. Daryl stepped forward and shot a bolt into the head of one of the monsters heading their way. Not sure what else to do, Madison drew her gun as she followed his lead and opened fire, buying the others time to get Hershel out of immediate danger.

“We’re blocked!” T-Dog yelled, “Get back! Get back!” Madison spun around and saw more walkers limping in their direction from the hall she and Daryl had just come from. Rick and Glenn dragged Hershel down a small maintenance corridor and the others followed while Madison and Daryl brought up the rear, walking backwards down the hall facing the monsters, prepared to take any out that got too close.

At the end of the hallway was a set of double doors that had been handcuffed shut, creating a pile up as the group waited for T to break them open and leaving Daryl and Madison at the back of the group with nowhere to go as the walkers closed in. Daryl roughly grabbed Madison and shoved her behind him as he started wildly swinging his knife at the advancing horde. “Get that damn door open now!” he yelled over his shoulder, desperation and fear easily heard in his voice. Finally T was able to break the cuffs, swinging the doors open. Too focused on the walkers in front of him, Daryl didn’t notice when the group rushed into the room until Madison grabbed his arm and pulled him backwards.

“Shut the door!” Rick ordered once Madison and Daryl were safely inside.

Daryl slammed the metal doors shut behind them and Madison threw her back against one door while Daryl pushed against the other. Moments later walkers began piling up behind the doors, pushing against them. Madison fought hard to hold her ground, but could feel the door giving way despite her best efforts. “Ya got it?” he asked her, noticing her lose her footing as he struggled to keep his own door shut.

“Not for long,” she answered honestly as she repositioned herself so she could push against the door with her shoulder and hands, groaning as she strained to hold the door in place, “We need to put something through the handles to latch them closed; I don’t think I’m strong enough to keep them out.” Daryl nodded and loaded his bow, getting ready for the inevitable moment when the doors gave way. T-dog overheard Madison and ran to the doors, sliding the fire poker he’d been using as a weapon into the handles and pushing against Madison’s door with her.

Rick tore his eyes away from Hershel and looked to those at the doors, “Have you got it?”

“Ya got it, man?” Daryl asked T.

“Yeah,” T grunted and Daryl nodded to him and glanced at Madison before moving away from the doors to help tend to Hershel.

When she heard T say he had it, Madison took a step away from the door to follow Daryl who took one look at her wide, panic stricken eyes and knew she couldn’t handle watching what was about to happen up close. “No. Stay at the door; help T.”

“But I want to be there for him; I can’t just…I need to do something,” she pleaded, gesturing to Hershel as Rick and Glenn eased him to the floor.

“Daryl!” Rick hollered, trying to get his attention and get his help.

Daryl held a hand up to Rick telling him to wait and then turned back to Madison, “I know; be there fer ‘im by keepin’ them bastards outta here. Okay, Buster?”

She weakly nodded and took her place at the door Daryl had been holding and watched in horror as Rick removed his belt, making a tourniquet for Hershel’s leg, and instructed Glenn and Daryl to hold him down. “All right,” Rick muttered, preparing himself for what he had to do as he reached for an ax, before looking Hershel in the eye and explaining, “Only one way to keep you alive.”

As Rick raised the ax for the first blow, Madison closed her eyes tightly. As a group they’d discussed the idea that by removing the bitten limb before the infection had a chance to spread it might be possible for someone to survive a walker bite, but she wasn’t prepared to watch the theory put to the test. The sickening sound of the ax cutting though Hershel’s bones filled the room and soon Hershel fell silent having passed out from the pain. One final clang sounded as the ax cut through the last piece of muscle and hit the floor and it was over. Rick moaned seeing what he’d done, even though it was necessary. “He’s bleeding out,” he stated and Madison’s eyes flew open, alarmed by the amount of blood Hershel was losing.

A clanking on the far side of the room Madison finally identified as the cafeteria caught her attention. Dreading what she would find, her eyes apprehensively followed the sound and she gasped loudly when she saw five men rising to their feet behind a metal grate partition, watching them. Her gasp caught Daryl’s attention and his eyes darted to her face to make sure she was all right; he followed her eyes and saw the small group of men for himself. “Duck,” he whispered to Rick before snatching his crossbow, jumping to his feet, and taking aim; he didn’t know if they were dead or alive, but either way he knew now was not the time to take chances.

“Holy shit,” one of the five men exclaimed. Madison relaxed slightly, momentarily grateful that these men weren’t walkers until then it hit her that they were locked in a room with five inmates. Her eyes fell on the rods and poles a couple of them had in their hands and she groaned; five armed inmates.

“Who the hell’re you?” Daryl demanded as he inched closer to the prisoners.

“Who the hell are you?” one of them shot back, not moving and refusing to answer his question.

“He’s bleeding out,” Rick repeated, letting Daryl deal with the prisoners so he could focus on Hershel. “We gotta go back. Come around here. Put pressure on the knee. Hard, hard! Push, push!” he ordered Maggie who was still in tears.

Madison didn’t know where to direct her attention; she was worried about Hershel, but the threat the inmates posed terrified her. The door behind her shook and she pushed her back against it with all her strength as she moved her gun behind her, hiding it from the prisoner’s view, and cocked it. Hershel was in good hands with Rick, Maggie, and Glenn, if anyone needed back up right now it was Daryl and she was ready to cover him if needed.

“Come on outta there. Slow an’ steady,” Daryl directed the prisoners, his focus never wavering.

A man with long, black hair and a neck tattoo, clearly their leader, stepped out first with the other four not far behind. “What happened to him?” he asked, doing his best to hide his shock at seeing Hershel’s severed leg lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

“He got bit,” Daryl curtly answered.

“Bit?” the leader repeated, reaching into his jumpsuit and pulling out a gun then taking a step forward.

Without hesitation, Madison raised her gun and pointed it at his head. “Look around; I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she threatened, straining to keep her voice steady.

Startled by the gun in her hand, the inmate immediately turned his gun on Madison. She gulped and the color drained from her face as she stared at the gun in his hand, but she managed to keep a, what she hoped was intimidating, scowl on her face as she fought to conceal the fear coursing through her. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy now,” Daryl said, his tone giving away the panic he felt seeing a gun pointed squarely at his Maddie’s heart as he tried to pull the inmate’s attention away from her and back to him. T-Dog drew his gun and stepped away from his side of the door and closer to the inmates, leaving Madison to hold both doors closed by herself. “Nobody needs t’get hurt,” Daryl continued, finally succeeding in getting the inmate’s attention on him. As he turned towards Daryl, he aimed his gun at him instead, but Daryl didn’t care; he was just relieved to have Madison out of the line of fire.

“You have medical supplies?” Glenn asked, walking through the middle of the standoff between Daryl and the inmates’ leader as though the situation was no more dangerous than cutting through two men having a friendly chat.

“Whoa, where do you think you’re going?” the largest inmate asked Glenn as he marched into the back room where they’d been hiding.

The walkers outside the cafeteria started growling louder and pushing against the door harder, the yelling in the room piquing their interest. Madison lowered her gun and concentrated all of her energy on keeping the doors closed, unsure of how long the poker T put between the handles would hold. “Who the hell are you people, anyway?” the leader asked, realizing that the group of survivors was not to be underestimated.

“Don’t look like no rescue team,” an inmate with a handlebar mustache observed, stating the obvious.

“If a rescue team’s what you’re waitin’ for, don’t,” Rick threw at the inmates as he fought to lift Hershel while Maggie continued to put pressure on his stump. A sudden crash echoed through the cafeteria as Glenn tipped a meal cart on its side to clear it off so it could be used as a gurney. “Come on, we gotta go!” Rick shouted to Glenn, “Now! Come on! I need a hand here!” Glenn wheeled the cart next to Hershel then ran around to his other side to help Rick get him up on the cart. “One, two, three, go!” Rick directed as together they managed to get Hershel on the makeshift gurney. Maggie did her best to control her father’s bleeding while trying to stay out of the way. “T, the door!”

Madison holstered her gun and drew her knife as T rejoined her at the door and pulled his fire poker from the handles. “Are you crazy? Don’t open that?” one of the inmates shouted.

“We got this,” T replied, pulling the doors open.

Madison was surprised, but relieved, that only one walker staggered through the door; T-Dog lunged at it and took it down effortlessly while she poked her head out into the hallway to make sure it was safe. “It’s clear; go!” she shouted over her shoulder, stepping out of the way and letting those with Hershel go first.

“Daryl. Daryl!” Rick yelled, breaking Daryl’s concentration enough to get him to follow them back to their cellblock.

As Daryl slowly backed out of the room, his eyes only left the group of inmates long enough to see Madison still standing at the door waiting for him with her gun raised again. “Let’s go,” he muttered to her as they turned around and followed Rick.

Daryl maneuvered himself to the front of the group and guided the group back to the cellblock as quickly as he could; following the arrows Glenn painted whenever the path wasn’t blocked by walkers. As they neared their destination, Rick brought the group to a stop when he heard voices trailing them through the hall. Daryl fell to the back of the group once again to provide a barrier between the prisoners and Hershel, stepping in front of Madison as the inmates’ voices got louder. “Let’s go. Go, go, go,” he urged the group in a harsh whisper and they started moving again.

After what seemed like hours, they finally got back to their part of the prison and Daryl ran ahead to open the door to the common area outside the cellblock so they could rush Hershel inside. “He’s losing too much blood,” Maggie said with a shaky voice.

“Open the door!” Rick hollered to those within the cellblock itself, “It’s Hershel! Carl! Come on!”

Carl fumbled with the keys, but managed to get the door open and the cellblock erupted into chaos as the rest of the group saw what had happened to Hershel. Madison started to follow them to do what she could to help, but stopped in her tracks when she heard Daryl toss his keys down on a table. She whipped her head around and saw him throw his leg up on a bench and take aim towards the door they’d just come through, resting his elbow on his knee to steady his bow and preparing to protect the cellblock on his own. Uncomfortable with the thought of leaving Daryl to face the inmates alone, she drew her gun and took her place on the opposite side of the table Daryl was standing next to, aiming at the, for now, empty doorway. Daryl shot her an irritated sidelong glance and growled, "Get the hell outta here; I got it."

"They're dangerous," she argued.

"Yeah, no shit," he spat at her, his temper quickly getting the best of him at her refusal to listen to him and get to safety.

“I’m not letting you face them alone-” Madison countered, terrified by the prospect of losing Daryl at the hands of the five inmates if he was foolish enough to face them by himself.

Daryl lowered his bow and gave her a withering glare, “'Lettin’ me?' ‘Lettin’ me!’ Who the hell d’ya think y’are, Madison? Ain’t gonna let some woman tell me what I can an’ can’t do! I don’t need yer damn permission!”

Clearly Madison had struck a nerve, but she wasn’t about to back down and pressed on, letting Daryl’s anger fuel her own, “And I do? Just because you’re the man doesn’t mean you have the right to tell me where to go, that’s not how this works, Daryl! You can’t do this alone; let me help you!”

“D’ya hear yerself? Stop arguin’ an’ do what I tell ya fer once!”

Madison was losing her nerve, she hadn’t seen Daryl this worked up since the storage units and she took a small, timid step away from him, the furious look in his eyes making her uneasy. Softening her tone and changing her strategy she pleaded, “Will you please put your fragile male ego aside for two seconds and listen to reason-”

“I said I got it!” he snarled at her as he stalked around the table and stood in front of her, cancelling out the distance she’d put between them.

“Guys, now ain’t the time,” T-Dog interjected from the shadows where he’d been hiding so they could have the element of surprise with the prisoners if needed. “He won’t be alone; I got his back,” he promised the frightened woman standing in front of Daryl.

Before Madison knew what was happening, Daryl snatched his keys off the table, roughly grabbed her by the right arm, and started dragging her to the cellblock door. “They’re armed. I ain’t havin’ ya in the same room as ‘em fer one more second, not after what happened.”

“But it’s still two against five-” Madison protested the best she could as she unsuccessfully struggled to break free from his strong grip. She tried to suppress the memories of Charles that resurfaced with the harsh manner Daryl was handling her, reminding herself that he wasn’t trying to hurt her, in fact the opposite was true, he was trying to protect her.

“Go!” he bellowed as he shoved her towards the door. His eyes narrowed as he stared at her, silently daring her to argue with him again and ignoring the faint trace of fear that flashed across her face when he grabbed her. He knew he’d have to make up for that later, but the only way he could do that was by keeping her alive so she would be around later. It would be a cold day in hell before he gave the inmate with the neck tattoo another chance to point his gun at her and, God forbid, pull the trigger this time.

They stood silently staring at each other for a moment before Madison sighed and put her gun back in its holster. “Fine, I’m going,” she muttered, holding up her hands in surrender. Without another word, Daryl slammed the door shut behind her, locking her and the rest of the group in. Madison watched him return to the table and take aim again; she felt a little better knowing T was out there with him, but she was still far from comfortable with what was happening.

She was pulled from her concerns when she heard Carol frantically call out, “Get some pillows!” Angry with herself for momentarily forgetting about Hershel, she ran into the nearest cell and grabbed whatever pillows and blankets she could find.

“That’s far enough,” Daryl’s voice carried into the cellblock and Madison froze as she tried to listen and piece together what was going on in the next room, knowing better than to try and see for herself.

“Cellblock C. Cell Four, that’s mine, gringo. Let me in.” Madison slowly stood, recognizing the voice of the inmate that aimed his gun at her and then at Daryl.

“Today’s yer lucky day, fellas. Y’ve been pardoned by the state of Georgia. Yer free t’go,” Daryl sneered and Madison released the breath she’d been holding when she heard the confident way he addressed the prisoners and told herself that he had it under control; Hershel was the one that needed her right now. Keeping that fact in mind, she forced herself to tune out Daryl’s exchange with the prisoners and rushed into the cell where everyone was hovering around Hershel to deliver what she’d found.

“Here’s some pillows, Carol,” Madison blurted as she rushed past Rick and Glenn, who seemed to be having a very serious discussion outside Hershel's cell, and pushed her way into the crowded cell, “And a couple of blankets. They’re not clean or anything, but-”

“They’ll do for now,” Carol responded without looking away from Hershel. Madison handed the blankets to Lori and carefully lifted Hershel’s leg. “What're you doing?” Carol asked when she felt Hershel’s leg move, whipping around and glaring at Madison as if she had done something wrong.

Madison was so focused on helping Hershel that she overlooked Carol’s accusatory tone and slid the pillows underneath his stump. “We need to keep it elevated if we’re going to control the bleeding. I assumed that’s what you needed pillows for, but if you needed them for something else I’ll go find more,” she offered, looking to Carol for direction. “I mean it, Carol. Anything you need me to do, consider it done.”

Carol shook her head, caught off guard by how completely Madison was letting go of their feud for Hershel’s sake. “I need these old rags cleared out of here so I have space to work,” she finally mumbled, giving Madison the first task she could think of.

With a nod, Madison jumped into action and collected all the bloody rags and towels that had been used for Hershel’s leg and carried them out of the cell, ignoring the nagging feeling that Carol had her clean up the rags just to get rid of her. Unsure of what to do with the rags for the time being she wadded them in a ball and stuck them in a corner so they wouldn’t be in anyone’s way and told herself she’d rinse them out first chance she had. She stared at her bloodstained hands, shocked that so much blood came from just the rags; seeing firsthand just how much blood Hershel was losing she decided they’d definitely need more blankets or whatever she could find if they had any chance of stopping the bleeding. After stripping several cells of whatever semi-clean fabric she could find, she returned to Hershel’s cell which was too crowded for her to slip into. “Will you hand these to Carol?” she whispered to Glenn who was standing next to the cell door at the foot of the bed, nudging him softly. He nodded to her somewhat distractedly and passed the hodgepodge of fabric to Carol. “How’s he doing?”

“No change,” Glenn replied with a heavy sigh, never taking his eyes of Hershel. “I just, I can’t…he’s gotta wake up.”

“I know what you mean, we all feel that way,” she muttered, staring helplessly into the cell.

Glenn shook his head and looked at Madison for the first time, “No, you don’t. Earlier Rick, he-” He abruptly stopped talking as Beth rushed past him and out of the cell. They both watched in silence as the young girl ducked into an empty cell and Madison could feel her heart break for her and what she must be going through. “I need you to do something for me,” Glenn told Madison quietly, pulling her from her thoughts. After throwing one last worried look at Hershel, he slipped quietly out of the cell and nodded for Madison to follow him, ignoring Maggie’s questioning gaze.

“What’s going on? What were you saying about Rick?” Madison asked in a hushed tone once they were out of earshot of those still in with Hershel. It was obvious that whatever Glenn wanted to talk to her about was not for Maggie’s ears and Madison found herself wondering if she even wanted to know or not.

“I don’t think Rick expects Hershel to make it; in fact it’s probably safe to say that none of us really expect him to make it.” Madison stared at him, slack jawed, as he spoke, “Tell me I’m wrong. Anyway, Rick told me to stay close by, you know...just in case. So Maggie or Beth don’t have to be the ones...”

Madison couldn’t hide the trepidation in her eyes or voice as she tried to work out why he was telling her this; the only conclusion she could come to was that he’d decided he wouldn’t be able to take care of Hershel if the time came and he was asking her to do it. A knot formed in her stomach as she considered the possibility of being the one to make sure Hershel wouldn’t come back, the very idea bringing tears to her eyes. She anxiously folded her arms and looked Glenn in the eye as she asked in a tight whisper, “So what do you need me to do, Glenn?”

“I can’t leave Hershel’s side and that means I can’t be there for Beth and Maggie like I want to be; I need you to keep an eye on them for me.”

Relieved that that was all Glenn needed from her, Madison exhaled slowly and nodded, “Oh, thank God; I thought you were asking me to…”

“No, no. Of course not; I’d never ask you to do that. That would be like asking Maggie to do it. I just need your help making sure they’re doing okay.”

“Askin’ me to do what?” Maggie interrupted, “Make sure my dad doesn’t turn and kill everyone in sight?”

Madison put her hand on her friend’s shoulder, “I’m sorry Maggie; we didn’t want you to have to hear that.”

“It’s all right, I’m not blind. I know it’s gonna happen,” Maggie mumbled, fighting back tears and stepping into Glenn’s open arms.

“I’ll go check on Beth and give you two a minute,” Madison said quietly as she turned to leave, acknowledging Glenn’s grateful smile with a small nod. She slowly made her way down the row of cells as she tried to think of what she could possibly say to comfort Beth at a time like this. Her train of thought was quickly derailed when she looked into Beth’s cell and saw her on the ground, knife in hand, tearing what looked like a pair of pants. “I was going to ask how you were doing, but I think the better question is what are you doing?” Madison asked the young girl as she took a seat on the bunk.

Beth’s eyes darted to Madison for a brief moment before returning to her project. “I’m trimmin’ up Daddy’s pant legs so he doesn’t trip once he’s up and walkin’,” she explained as she kept working.

Madison watched Beth tear away at the fabric for a moment and sighed, “Beth…” Her sentence trailed off into silence. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Beth that she needed to face reality and prepare for the possibility that Hershel wouldn’t wake up; if this was what Beth needed to do to cope, who was she to tell her otherwise? “Do you need some help?” she asked instead, pulling out her own knife and picking up another pair of pants to work on.

Beth gave Madison a sad, grateful half-smile. She wasn’t stupid, she knew how bad the situation was and she was relieved that Madison decided not to remind her of what she already knew. “Thanks,” she mumbled and the pair worked in silence for several minutes as they enjoyed the distraction and the companionship of the other.

Shortly after Madison joined Beth, Maggie entered the cell, “What’re you two doin’?”

“Fixing a couple of pairs of your dad’s pants,” Madison answered, looking Maggie in the eye and trying to get her to understand that Beth needed the diversion.

“Why?” Maggie pressed, looking away from Madison and to her little sister.

“He’s gonna have a hard time walkin’ around with one side of his pants draggin’ on the ground,” Beth answered, glancing up at Maggie and silently begging her to understand before casting her eyes back down to the pants in her hand. “You know, he could trip or somethin’.”

Maggie sat on her heels in front of her sister and sighed, “There’s a good chance he won’t wake up.”

“She knows that, Maggie,” Madison whispered, pleading with Maggie to let Beth be.

Anger flashed across Beth’s face as she shot back at Maggie’s comment, “Why are you so eager to give up on him?”

“I’m not givin’ up on him.”

“Sure sounds like it,” Beth replied coldly.

Maggie took a deep breath before continuing, staring at her bloodstained hands which served as a constant reminder of how close to death their father really was. Choosing her words carefully, she searched for the perfect balance between being gentle with her sister and helping her face reality, “I don’t want you to get your hopes too high. We’re not equipped to deal with somethin’ like this.”

“We have Carol,” Beth argued, desperately clinging to whatever glimmer of hope she had left, “And Madison.”

“They’re not doctors,” Maggie replied with a stern voice, “Dad taught Carol a few things to help with the baby and Madison knows even less.”

Beth looked like she would break down in tears at any moment as she tried one last time to get Maggie to listen to her, “But Carol, she stopped the bleedin’. And Madison knows things too; she helped with my wrist, remember?” Maggie nodded sadly at the memory, fighting back tears of her own. “These’ll do just fine,” Beth announced, inspecting the pants she’d altered. She stood up and snatched the pair of pants from Madison’s hands before rushing out of the cell. Maggie released a shaky breath and held her hand to her forehead, concern for Beth now added to the laundry list of problems running through her mind.

“Was the really necessary?” Madison asked quietly, very aware that she was overstepping her bounds, “She knows how serious it is; this is just how she’s coping. What harm would it have done to let her hold on to a little hope?”

Maggie whipped her head around and glared at Madison. “Don’t tell me how to handle my sister,” she snapped. “You saw what she did after the barn; what do you think she’ll do to herself when Dad dies after she’s convinced herself that he’s gonna be okay?”

“We’ll get him through this, Maggie. He’s going to be all right.”

“If one more person says that to me, I’m gonna knock them on their ass,” Maggie fumed, jumping to her feet and turning to leave.

Madison stood to follow Maggie out of the cell; she wasn’t finished with the conversation and wasn’t going to let Maggie leave before she’d said all she had to say. “We’re only trying to help-”

“Then stop it!” Maggie yelled, turning on her heel to face Madison again, startling her into silence. “How’s lyin’ to me supposed to help? Even if he lives, and we both know that’s a big if; even if he lives, he’s not gonna be all right! We’re always movin’. He won’t even be able to stand on his own; how will he be able to run when this place falls apart like the farm or the storage units?” Maggie stopped yelling and dissolved into tears without warning, catching Madison completely off guard. She gently guided Maggie to the bunk and sat her down. Taking a seat next to her, Madison hugged her friend and tried to soothe Maggie the best she could while keeping her own anxieties in check; Maggie needed her right now and Madison forced herself to be strong for her. There would be time for her to process everything later.

“I’m a terrible daughter for even thinkin’ this way, you have to know I don’t want him to die; but it might be better for him in the long run,” Maggie said through her tears, “I mean, what kind of life short, painful life will he live-”

“Don’t talk like that. When-” Madison glanced at Maggie and changed her wording to be more to her liking, “If he pulls through, we’ll figure something out. We’ll find him a wheelchair or get him some crutches. Maybe we’re done running; the place seems secure-”

“Like the farm?” Maggie countered, sitting up straight and wiping the tears from her face.

Madison sighed, nothing she could say would get through to Maggie until Hershel woke up, if he woke up. “Maggie, look at me; we’ll do what we can to make it work. Everyone. We all love your dad and we’re all going to do everything in our power to see him through this. He’s a fighter. If anyone could pull through something like this it’s him.” Maggie rolled her eyes at Madison and scoffed, but Madison put her hand on Maggie’s shoulder and continued, “Let’s just get him through today and we’ll figure out the rest as it comes. Okay?”

Maggie stared forward, not seeing anything in front of her and nodded slightly as she took a deep, shaky breath, “I’m gonna go check on him.” She quietly stood up and unceremoniously walked out of the cell.

Now that she had a few minutes to herself, Madison let herself feel some of the emotions she’d been shoving aside all day. Her shoulders slumped and she cradled her head in her hands as she tried to combat the truthfulness of Maggie’s comments; she knew Maggie was right, but she wasn’t ready to accept that Hershel could die today. She hadn’t considered that helping him survive the amputation might be the easy half of the battle and that realization sat heavy as a stone in her heart. A few tears rolled down her face and she angrily wiped them away and shut down her worries once again; she couldn’t let the floodgates open or there’d be no shutting them and even though she felt her talk with Maggie did more harm than good, she still had to be there for her, for everyone really. The sound of the heavy cellblock door swinging open caught Madison’s attention and she jumped to her feet, eager to see Daryl after he’d been gone with the prisoners all afternoon. She rushed out of the cell as T called out to the group announcing they’d brought some food. She stopped short and her heart plummeted as she watched T-dog and Rick return alone. “Where’s Daryl? Why isn’t he with you?” she blurted as she ran towards their leader, not caring that she was interrupting his conversation.

Rick threw an exasperated look at Madison; he had two large bags of corn in his arms and he turned his back to Glenn and spoke to him over his shoulder, giving Glenn access to the back of his holster, “Take my cuffs, put them on him. I’m not takin’ any chances.”

It took a moment for Madison to wrap her mind around why Rick wanted Hershel handcuffed to the bed. She watched Glenn solemnly cuff the unconscious man to the bedframe and she blinked rapidly to keep herself from crying; Hershel wasn’t getting any better, she realized. He was getting worse. Peeling her eyes from Hershel, she looked to Rick again; afraid to get more bad news, but desperate to know where Daryl was, “Rick. Where is he?”

The expression on Rick’s face softened when he saw the tears in Madison’s eyes threatening to escape. “Don’t worry, he’s fine,” he kindly explained to the frightened woman, “He volunteered to stay back and keep those inmates in line while we brought some of the food back.” Madison’s eyes dropped and she gave Rick a barely visible nod to let him know she heard him. While she was grateful to hear that Daryl was all right, she still was worried sick about him. Those five inmates could overpower him so easily while he was on his own if they set their minds to it. She was so wrapped up in her new set of concerns that she scarcely noticed Rick take a few steps away from her to hand off the bags of corn to T and jumped when he stood in front of her again and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Madison, I wouldn’t have left him alone with them if I thought he was in danger,” Rick insisted as though he could read the thoughts plaguing Madison’s mind. “Trust me, Daryl can handle those guys.”

“You’re right, of course he can. Thank you,” Madison muttered with an unconvincing smile, hoping a smile could trick her into believing that Daryl could handle the prisoners as strongly as Rick did. Rick nodded to her and looked behind him and joined Lori who had been waiting for a chance to talk to him.

The rest of the afternoon crept by slowly and painfully; Madison found herself walking the thin line between trying to be helpful and trying not to be underfoot. Carol wasn’t letting her go near Hershel, insisting that she and Lori had it under control and that an extra set of hands would only create problems. Normally that would have rubbed Madison the wrong way, but today she didn’t care who was taking care of him as long as he was getting the care he so desperately needed. She paced up and down the corridor in front of the row of cells, feeling entirely useless. With a frustrated huff she leaned against the wall and slid down into a sitting position and groaned into her hands. She wasn’t helping Hershel and Beth and Maggie hardly left his side so she couldn’t watch out for them like Glenn asked her to; Rick, T, and Daryl had been gone for hours and were who knows where clearing out another cellblock for the inmates so she couldn’t even go find them to lend a hand there. Desperate for something to do, no matter how insignificant, she jumped to her feet and climbed the stairs to find a few pillows from the unused cells on the second floor. She looked at the pillows in her hand as she returned downstairs and shook her head at her pathetic attempt to contribute. The thought had struck her that the pillows they’d been using to prop his leg up must be getting fairly saturated with blood by now and that some new ones might be appreciated; the idea seemed so stupid now.

“Then get off my back,” Carl shouted and Madison tore her attention away her problems and watched Carl as he raced out of the cell.

“Hey, you okay?” she asked as he rushed by her. He didn’t respond, just stopped in front of her long enough to throw a scathing look her way before bounding up the stairs. Madison shook her head after him and slowly made her way back to Hershel’s cell. “What was all that about?” she asked quietly, feeling the lingering tension in the room as she slipped inside and quickly swapped out the pillows. “Bandages?” she murmured when she noticed the bright white gauze wrapped around Hershel’s stump, “Where did those come from?”

“Carl. He found the infirmary,” Lori exhaled.

Lori’s brief explanation answered both of Madison’s questions as she pieced together that Carl must have gotten upset because he didn’t get the response he was expecting for finding the medical supplies. “It’s maybe not the smartest thing he’s ever done, but thank goodness he did it; having proper supplies will make all the difference in the world,” she replied as she, once again, gathered the blood soaked pillows and rags strewn around the cell and carried them outside so Carol and Lori would have space to work. She went over to her growing pile of soiled rags in the corner and crammed the rags into the pillowcases to try and contain the grisly mess she’d made. Muffled voices floated to her through the air, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying so she kept her head down and kept working. The sound of approaching footsteps grabbed her attention and she looked up to see Glenn and Carol looking at her.

“Carol needs me outside for a little while and I-I know I told you I wouldn’t ask you this, but will you keep an eye on Hershel for me?” Glenn told Madison, giving her a meaningful look.

Madison stared at Glenn for a moment, unable to respond as she processed that he’d just asked her to kill the man she looked at as a father if it came to that; she’d do it, she’d have to, but she still had a difficult time wrapping her brain around the idea. Before she could answer him, Carol spoke up, “No. I’m going to need your help too; come on Madison.”

Shocked and half convinced she’d heard wrong Madison slowly stood up and followed the other two outside, waiting for Carol to turn around and tell her off for following them. The expected fall out never came and the three of them meandered their way to the outer fences in silence. Still unsure of her role, Madison stood quietly and listened as Carol explained that she needed to practice a C-section since Hershel wouldn’t be able to perform one any more. The part that she had trouble digesting, even though it made perfect sense, was that Carol wanted to use a walker as a cadaver so she could learn to cut through the abdomen and uterus without cutting the baby.

After Carol finished explaining her thought process, she stepped up to the fence and killed a female walker with a piece of rebar. At her signal, Glenn lured the rest of the walkers away from the patched hole in the fence where the group broke into the prison yard just two days before as Carol started unravelling the wire keeping it shut. As she worked, she glanced over her shoulder to Madison who was shifting her weight nervously and running her hand through her hair. “Madison, will you help me bring in the body and cover me if one of those walkers wanders away from Glenn?” she asked the slightly younger woman as she slid through the small opening in the fence.

“Yeah, sure,” Madison answered following Carol through the fence and lifting the walker from under the arms while Carol picked up the feet and backed up into the safety of the fences. When Carol and Madison were both through the fence, Glenn jogged back to them and helped Carol carry the walker farther away from the weak point in the fence while Madison weaved the wire through the chain link again.

Once the fence was secure, Madison saw Carol kneeling on the gravel next to the walker and began to make her way back towards the gate that lead to the prison yard, believing Carol had no further use for her. “Where’re you going? I still need you,” Carol called after her, bringing her to an abrupt stop. Madison looked around as she made her way over to Carol and realized that Glenn was gone, no doubt returning to his post at Hershel’s bedside. “I’m going to teach you what little Hershel taught me about C-sections; I can’t be the only one who can help Lori when the time comes,” Carol explained as Madison took a seat on the opposite side of the walker from Carol. Madison listened carefully as Carol talked her through the procedure as best she could; eventually Carol took a deep breath. “And now for the actual cutting,” she muttered, gingerly raising the walker’s skirt, “I’ll cut this time and once I get a feel for it, we’ll get another walker and have you try it.”

“Okay,” Madison replied, her voice tight. She watched Carol as she tentatively made the incision, her mind running in thousands of different directions; soon curiosity got the better of her and she blurted out, “Carol, why me?”

Carol pulled her eyes away from the walker and looked at Madison, “I can’t exactly ask Maggie or Beth to learn how to do this in case their father dies today, can I?”

“No, you can’t. Of course, that makes sense,” Madison sputtered, feeling chastised by Carol’s sharp tone. She broke eye contact with Carol and looked down at her hands. Absentmindedly picking the dried blood from underneath her nails, she sighed, “You’re right.”

“And in spite of everything,” Carol continued with a sigh, gesturing between herself and Madison to illustrate her point, “I have to admit you’re good in tough situations and know more about medicine than the rest. I’m convinced your quick thinking helped save Beth’s life when she… And you helped Daryl when he popped his stitches. I need someone that can handle this and I think you can.”

Madison didn’t know how to respond; those were the kindest words Carol had ever spoken to her and she was flabbergasted. As her mind raced to come up with an appropriate response, she realized something. “You weren’t there that day with Beth and I never told anyone that I redid Daryl’s stitches; how do you know what I’ve done?” she questioned in a small whisper, afraid her observation would offend Carol.

Wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, Carol returned her focus to the walker in front of her, “People talk.”

A small smile lifted the corners of Madison’s mouth; Carol could’ve heard about what happened with Beth from any number of people, but there was only one way she could’ve found out about Daryl’s stitches and that was from his own mouth. After all the times she’d been jealous about Daryl and Carol’s friendship, it was nice to know that he’d spent at least some of his time with Carol talking about her; she felt silly for ever doubting his devotion and felt like she owed him yet another apology. “But none of that compares to what you’ve done for Hershel today,” she told Carol, forcing herself to focus on the here and now.

“No one likes a suck up, Madison,” Carol replied, keeping no her eyes trained on the walker.

Madison dropped her gaze, embarrassed that Carol took her comments the wrong way, “I wasn’t trying-I didn’t mean it like that. I-” Carol laughed softly to herself and Madison cautiously looked up and saw Carol glance at her with a small smile on her face. Madison felt herself relax a little and returned Carol’s smile; if nothing else, the events of the day seemed to have changed the dynamic between Madison and Carol and she hoped this meant they could put their hard feelings for each other behind them and start fresh.

Daryl thought his eyes were playing tricks on him as he quietly approached Madison and Carol and saw them working peacefully side by side. Bewildered, but ecstatic by the sight before him, the corner of his mouth turned up in a lopsided grin; moments ago when he’d asked Glenn where Madison was and was told that she and Carol were outside practicing a C-section on a walker together he didn’t believe it. He’d never been happier to be proven wrong. The elation he felt quickly gave way to apprehension as he got closer to Madison; he did what he had to do to keep her safe, but he wasn’t sure how she’d react to seeing him again after how rough he was with her when trying to keep her away from the prisoners. Preparing himself for the silent treatment at the very least, he cleared his throat announcing his presence to the preoccupied women, “Hershel’s awake if ya wanna see ‘im.”

Both Carol and Madison’s heads snapped up at Daryl’s announcement and they immediately sprang to their feet. Without a word, Carol took off running towards the prison to see Hershel before he fell asleep again. Daryl was expecting Madison to do the same and was taken by surprise when, instead, she ran into his arms; he exhaled deeply and held her close, relieved to see the large smile on her face as she greeted him with.

“You’re okay! I’ve been so worried!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and holding him tighter as tears of joy stung her eyes. “You are okay, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, Buster. I’m okay,” he answered as he gently pulled back from her embrace and glanced over his shoulder to make sure Carol was out of earshot before looking back to Madison and asking, “How ‘bout you? E’verythin’ ‘lright out here?”

Still beaming, Madison nodded, “Surprisingly yeah.” Her mind returned to the sliced up walker lying on the ground behind her and her smile faded. “I bet you’re wondering what’s going on…”

Daryl shook his head and caressed her back as he answered, “Nah, Glenn warned me. I’ll be honest, I didn’t really believe ‘im ‘til I seen it myself.”

“I was part of it and I’m still not sure I believe it. On one hand it makes total sense, on the other it’s completely cra-” Madison lost her train of thought as Daryl’s intense blue eyes danced across her face, lingering on her lips before locking with hers and making her heart skip a beat. They’d been together for just shy of nine months and she was still dumbfounded by the effect his eyes had on her, how they could disarm her, thrill her, and make her feel safe at the same time.

Slowly, he raised his hands to her face, worry lines etched deep in his forehead as he studied the blood covering her; it was the first thing he noticed when he found her in the maze of prison hallways, but he hadn’t had the chance to make sure she was all right until now. He carefully tilted her head in different directions, searching for the source of the bleeding, a troubled frown on his lips. Madison took one of Daryl’s large hands in hers and pressed a kiss to his palm then met his concerned gaze. “It’s not mine; don’t worry,” she whispered as though she could read his thoughts and smiled as she watched his face relax.

“Yer arm okay?” he asked in a strained whispered, lowering his eyes, unable to hold eye contact with her as the guilt he felt resurfaced. Madison gave him a confused look and he timidly ran his hand up and down her right arm to get his point across, grateful beyond measure that she didn’t flinch or pull away from him. “I’m sorry I hurt ya, Maddie. I didn’t mean t’.”

“You didn’t,” she hastily insisted, lying to spare him the unnecessary guilt she knew he felt, “Please don’t worry about it, it had completely slipped my mind.”

Daryl’s eyes returned to Madison’s. Comforted by her promise that she’d forgotten the incident, he tucked her hair behind her ear with a tiny smile as marveled that the amazing woman in front of him had chosen to be with him. “Wanna go see Hershel?” he asked in a low whisper, taking her hand and leading her back inside. They walked through the gate and into the prison yard in silence, both of their minds running rampant. Madison was thrilled that Hershel was responsive, but now felt overwhelmed with the task of getting him mobile again. Daryl cast a sidelong glance at her as he debated asking what happened to her when they got separated inside the prison. Something fairly traumatic must have happened to her, he concluded as he eyed the amount of blood on her face. He wanted to know, wanted to be there for her if she needed to talk, but he dreaded finding out just how much danger she’d been in. With his tongue in his cheek, he mulled it over for a few more minutes before finally breaking the silence, “Y’never said what happened when I lost ya in the prison.” Madison took a sharp, deep breath, but remained silent. “Maddie?” Daryl whispered, squeezing her hand to get her attention, her silence worrying him even more than he was already.

“Sorry,” she muttered, her eyes darting to Daryl’s anxious face, “I heard you; I’m just trying to think of how to word it so it doesn’t sound worse than it was.”

“Yer scarin’ the shit outta me, bein’ all quiet. Jus’ tell me.”

Madison nodded and dove in, “Okay. After I found Maggie and Glenn I took out a walker and fell a little behind. I rounded a corner and the hall was swarmed with them; Maggie and Glenn got into a room and shut the door behind them, but I couldn’t reach it so I found an old metal tabletop and hid behind it until I could get away.” She was proud of herself for managing to keep her voice under control as she recounted the terrifying experience, not wanting to scare the man beside her more than she already had.

“That explosion?” he asked quietly, his voice tight.

“The flashbang you made me take,” Madison answered with a faint smile. She stopped walking and turned to face Daryl as she continued, “I won’t sugarcoat it; it got bad. Really bad. I was trapped in a corner with no way out and one of them grabbed the table and was pulling it away from me...that flashbang saved my life.” She broke eye contact with Daryl, unable to bear the anguish in his eyes as she told him what happened. Her eyes fell to her left hand, still holding tightly to Daryl’s, and she saw her leather bracelet and a smile returned to her face and she met his gaze again. “Things you give me have a tendency to do that.”

Daryl’s eyes flickered to her wrist and he remembered the feeling of watching that walker bite her wrist all those months back; he’d thought he’d lost her that day. Forcing himself to keep his emotions in check, he cleared away the lump forming in his throat and joked with a half-hearted chuckle, “Least I can do seein’ as how yer s’hell-bent on findin’ new ways t’try an’ get yerself killed.”

“Same could be said about you; staying behind with those prisoners all day? Alone?”

“Someone hadda have the sack t’stay b’hind an’ keep y’all safe,” Daryl stated matter-of-factly.

Madison placed her hand on his cheek, “That someone doesn’t always have to be you, though.” Daryl didn’t know what to say and only acknowledged her comment with a shrug. Knowing better than to push the topic any further, Madison shook her head at him and took a few small steps towards the prison. When she couldn’t go any farther, she turned around and gave Daryl and exasperated look; he was refusing to follow her and still holding onto her hand tightly. With a smirk, he pulled her back to him and slid his arms around her waist. “Jus’ wish ya’d stop tryin’ t’die on me is all,” he whispered, the combination of his deep voice and penetrating stare bringing a flush to Madison’s cheeks.

Suddenly tongue-tied, Madison struggled to string words together to form a coherent sentence, “I-I know, I’m sorry. I couldn’t leave them...Maggie and Glenn, they needed…”

Daryl interrupted her by tracing her bottom lip with his thumb, wiping all thoughts from her mind other than the sensation of his touch. He leaned in closer, his lips tantalizingly close to hers, yet just out of reach, “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost ya, Maddie. I ain’t in no rush t’find out.”

Before she could respond, Daryl tilted her head back and pressed his lips against hers; taking her by surprise with how slowly and tenderly he kissed her. Madison’s eyes closed and she happily surrendered to his heartfelt kiss, getting lost in the way he was taking his time and savoring being close to her as if he were trying to memorize the feel of her lips on his, assuring himself that she was really here with him, that she was safely in his arms. He pulled her closer, tightening his hold around her waist with one hand and slowly bringing his other hand to her neck, drawing a small moan from Madison’s lips as he deepened the kiss. Her hands roamed Daryl’s broad chest and shoulders before coming to rest at his neck, her slender fingers getting tangled in his hair, clinging to him and the moment she never wanted to end.

The need for oxygen forced Madison to reluctantly pull away and end the kiss. Daryl groaned in protest as their lips separated, the sound causing a self-satisfied smirk spread across her face as she gave him one more soft, quick kiss before resting her head against his chest and enjoying the security his arms offered after the hellish day they’d both endured. The rhythmic beating of his heart and the loving way he ran his fingers through her hair coaxed her into a near trace-like state. In danger of falling asleep on her feet, Madison pried her eyes open and her unfocused gaze fell on the prison.

Movement caught her attention and she zeroed in on the blurry shapes across the yard identifying them as two of the inmates from the cafeteria behind the fences that kept them in their part of the prison. From this distance it was impossible to decide which way they were looking, but just the idea that they had been watching her intimate, private moment with Daryl made her feel sick, even violated, and all she wanted was to get inside and quickly as possible. “Hey,” she said with a smile, trying to mask the immense discomfort she felt, “Let’s go inside.” Confused by her sudden desire to leave, Daryl squinted at her as he studied her face, noticing the strain in her eyes behind her smiling facade. “I just want to check on Hershel,” she explained, hoping that half of the truth would be enough to convince her perceptive redneck to follow her. After considering her explanation for a moment, his face fell and he finally nodded, much to Madison’s relief. “We can always pick up where we left off later, you know?” she pointed out with a coy smile as she took hold of Daryl’s vest and pulled him with her as she started walking backwards towards the safety of their cellblock. Her eyes darted back to the prisoners and she dropped his vest then fell into step beside him.

Noticing the faint blush on her cheeks as she looked away from him, Daryl followed her eyes and spotted the two inmates for himself. “They been watchin’ ya?” he asked through clenched teeth. Determined to defend Madison’s honor, he stormed off in their direction without waiting for an answer to his question.

“I don’t know,” Madison answered, catching his arm and bringing him to a stop. “You’ve dealt with them enough today; let’s just go,” she begged when he started walking again, holding on to him tighter and bringing her hand to his face, turning his head so he looked her in the eye, “Please, Daryl.” He threw a scathing, sidelong glare at the prisoners and gave Madison a sharp nod. “Thank you,” she breathed and Daryl nodded again as he positioned himself between her and the inmates, doing his best to block her from their line of sight, and guided her inside with a protective hand on the small of her back.

Once inside, Madison rushed to Hershel’s cell to find him sleeping again. Disappointed not to be able to talk to him, she leaned against the doorframe with her arms folded and watched him sleep; the color was starting to return to his face and he was snoring slightly which put her mind at ease. After taking a moment to lock the cellblock doors, Daryl joined her in the doorway and put his arm around her, giving her a comforting squeeze. She ran her hand through her hair as the full weight of all the emotions she’d been holding inside hit her at once; with a shaky voice she whispered, “Carol had me out there with her so she wouldn’t be the only one who could help Lori if he, you know…” Tears rolled freely down her face now that she didn’t have to be strong for anyone else and she buried her face against Daryl’s chest as she cried, “He’s been like a father to me, what if he…”

Daryl’s powerful arms encircled Madison as she released all of her pent up fears and anxieties. “Shhh, look at ‘im, ‘e’s fine Maddie,” he soothed, resting his chin on her head, “Got a long way t’go, but ‘e’s gonna make it; ‘e’s a tough ol’ son of a bitch.”

“I know, I know,” she muttered as she tried to get a hold of herself, but the harder she tried to rein it in, the harder she cried. “This is so stupid; I’m sorry-I can’t…”

“It’s okay, Buster,” Daryl whispered, kissing the top of her head, “y’ain’t gotta be strong fer nobody right now.”

“Madison. I’m so glad they found you,” Hershel’s groggy voice floated from the bed; startled, Madison whipped her head around and smiled through her tears at the older gentleman. “You had us all worried sick, young lady. Especially that one there,” he joked, weakly pointing to Daryl who shyly looked down to the ground and shifted his weight from one leg to another. “Why’re you cryin’, darlin’?”

A small, relieved chuckle slipped out as Madison dried her eyes. “You had us worried too; I guess we have that in common. How are you feeling?” she asked quietly, taking a seat on the stool by his bed and holding his extended hand, “Need something for the pain?” She looked over her shoulder to Daryl, “I think there’s some pain meds in that bag at the foot of the bed there, will you look for me?” He nodded and squeezed her shoulder before he started rummaging through the bag. “And some more bandages?” she added, examining the stump and seeing a few spots of blood seeping through.

“You don’t need to bother with all that, I’m fine,” Hershel protested, “We can’t use all the supplies on me, what if someone else needs it down the road?”

A pill bottle shook next to her ear and she turned and took the pills Daryl held out to her with one hand while he searched for clean gauze with the other. “So it’s true. Doctors do make the worst patients,” she teased, “You know you wouldn’t give any of us a choice, so I’m not giving you one either; take the pills Hershel.” With a tired laugh, Hershel complied as Madison took the gauze from Daryl and wrapped Hershel’s stump. “There, all wrapped up. You rest; I’ll check on you later, okay?”

Hershel nodded to her, half asleep, before turning his attention to the young man standing at the foot of his bed, “That’s a good woman you have there, Daryl. You hold on to her.”

“I plan t’,” Daryl mumbled with a nod. A faint smile covered Hershel’s face and before long he was asleep again.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what the deal was, but this chapter was a tough one for me. I've never struggled and reworked a chapter like this, but I'm pleased with how it turned out and I hope you guys like it. I can't begin to tell you what all of your support has meant to me. I've loved writing this and it makes me so happy to know that you enjoy reading it. And of course, as always, I own nothing of TWD. I only own Madison.

The next morning Madison woke later than she’d meant to and was the last member of the group to get up, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t make herself feel guilty about it. She threw her legs over the side of her bed and sat for a moment trying to figure out the next steps that needed to be taken to help Hershel. After deciding that sitting around and procrastinating the inevitable wouldn’t solve anything, she pulled her right arm across her chest to stretch out her shoulders and noticed several small, red bruises peeking out from under her sleeve. “Crap,” she groaned, raising her sleeve higher and inspecting the bruises closer. Why did she have to bruise so easily? All she wanted was to forget the arm grabbing incident and move on.

“Problem?”

She jumped at Daryl’s deep voice coming from the doorway to her cell and quickly yanked the sleeve of her t-shirt down as far as it would go, hiding her arm behind her as she spun around. “Yeah, no. It’s nothing. Just...I just tore my sleeve. Now I need to add mending to my to-do list,” she answered, hating herself with every word she spoke. Hiding bruises and lying about it; how had she let herself become this person again?

Daryl gave her a confused look. “So? Few holes never killed nobody,” he teased as he walked into her cell and took a seat next to her on the bunk. “Brought ya some breakfast. Ain’t much...powdered eggs,” he explained, scrunching his face as he handed her a plate, “Taste ‘bout as good as they sound, but it’s better than nothin’.”

“It’s a step above dog food at least,” she chuckled as she took a bite, regretting it instantly, “but not by much.” Daryl couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction and Madison shot him an irritated glare before playfully elbowing him.

“Gotta go talk with Rick an’ decide what we’re doin’ next; don’t sound like we’re goin’ back int’the prison again fer a day, maybe two. S’take it easy t’day, okay Buster?” he asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and kissing her cheek, “Y’ve earned it. See ya later.”

“Bye,” Madison smiled at him as he stood to go, “Thanks for trying to poison me with breakfast.”

“Shut up. Shoulda let ya starve,” he said with a wink as he walked out the door.

The smile on her face faded as she waited for a few seconds to make sure he wasn’t going to surprise her and walk back into her cell before she looked at her arm again, but the bruises were no longer what was troubling her. She hated how quickly she’d fallen into old habits, it scared her actually. The situation she found herself in now was completely different from when she was with Charles; when she hid her bruises from Charles it was to pretend like nothing was wrong and keep what was happening to her a secret. Now she hid them trying to spare Daryl’s feelings; she could picture the guilt and the self-loathing in his eyes so clearly and she wanted to protect him from the truth. With a heavy sigh she shook her head and ran her hand through her hair; it didn’t matter why she was hiding the bruises, she still was hiding them and that was the problem. She couldn’t let herself become that weak girl again and resolved to sit Daryl down and talk it over, letting him know in no uncertain terms that, even though she knew he wasn't trying to hurt her, this could not happen again. “This conversation is going to kill him,” she mumbled under her breath, wearily rubbing her eyes. Before she left her cell she changed out of her ratty t-shirt and pulled on a tank top, a visual reminder that her days of hiding were behind her.

Madison slipped out of her cell and made her way down to the main level to check on Hershel and touch base with Maggie and Beth, but stopped when she saw the three of them deep in conversation inside Hershel’s cell. Not wanting to intrude on their reunion, she backed up and looked around, searching for something to do to keep her mind occupied while she waited for the chance to talk to Daryl. She remembered her pile of soiled rags and pillows and meandered over to the corner where she’s stashed them only to find the corner cleared. With an aggravated huff, she placed her hands on her hips and stared at the empty corner for a moment before turning around and scanning the cellblock for the misplaced laundry.

“Lose something?” Carol asked, stopping next to Madison and setting down the two water jugs in her hands.

“Not much, just my mind,” Madison sighed, still scanning the room, “I was going to clean up that pile of bloody rags from yesterday, but I don’t know where they went. I know I set them down here.”

Carol chuckled quietly, “Sorry about that; that was me. I saw them this morning and just threw them outside to burn with the walkers. We’d never get them clean enough to reuse anyway.”

“True.” Madison looked down to the floor and sighed again, the weight of her looming conversation with Daryl pressing heavily on her mind, “Now I need to find something else to keep me busy.”

Eyeing Madison carefully, Carol bent down and picked up one of the water jugs she’d set down and handed it to her, “You can help me clean these walls.” Madison gave Carol a quizzical look and Carol explained herself, “If this cellblock is going to be our home, I think we could do with a less grisly paint job.”

Madison’s eyes wandered around the dimly lit cellblock and noticed the blood splattered on the walls and in the cells, a grim reminder of the many men who lost their lives in the prison. “I agree,” she muttered as she took the water jug and shook her head and continued with a dark chuckle, “I’ve never been a fan of the slaughterhouse-chic style of decorating in this place.”

“You look like you have a lot on your mind,” Carol pointed out, noting how Madison’s lighthearted smile did little to cover up the worry in her eyes.

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

“Is everything okay? Anything you want to talk about?” Carol offered with a sincere looking smile.

Madison studied her carefully, suspicious of how Carol’s attitude towards her could change so drastically. “Everything’s fine. Just a lot to figure out, you know? Lori and the baby, Hershel and how we’re going to get him mobile again, the prisoners next door,” she paused and mumbled quietly, “Just a lot of stuff to work through.”

“Are you and Daryl all right?” Carol asked somewhat hesitantly, her eyes darting to Madison’s arm.

“Of course we are; why wouldn’t we be?” Madison shot back, throwing a withering glare at the woman beside her.

With her hands raised in surrender Carol continued, “Sorry. I should know better than to bring up that topic. I get why you don’t want to talk to me Madison, but whatever this stuff you’re working through is...talk to someone about it.” Madison opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything Carol changed the subject, gesturing to the cells behind her, “I’ll take the bottom row and you can take the top? Sound good?”

Madison nodded and tried to speak up and address Carol’s previous comments about Daryl and needing someone to talk to, but Carol abruptly turned and walked away leaving Madison standing with her mouth open staring after her. It seemed like Carol was trying to make amends, but there had been too many months of fighting, backstabbing, and word twisting to allow Madison to let go of all that had gone on between them and trust her immediately. Jug in hand, she climbed the stairs to get to work on cleaning up the cells, all the while her mind running rampant, bombarding her with ways her conversation with Carol could come back and bite her. What if Carol told the others about the bruises and turned them all against Daryl, making them believe he was some kind of vicious woman beater? Would she run to him the first chance she had and tell him that Madison had been spreading it around the group that he was abusing her? Madison shook her head and angrily attacked the blood on the wall of the first cell; how could she let her guard down after a few kind words from that woman? Now she had to wait for the fallout of her bad decision. This had always been her problem; she gave second chances to people too easily because she wanted to believe in the goodness of others.

The rag she was holding fell to the ground as a horrifying thought struck her; was that what she was doing with Daryl? She sunk to the floor and her hands flew to her mouth as her mind plagued her with unanswerable questions and she wondered if she was lying to herself by saying that this time was different, that Daryl was different. Desperate to prove to herself that her fears were unfounded she started comparing Daryl and Charles in her mind, searching for any and all differences and similarities. As she opened the door and let Charles back into her thoughts, the memory of the night he showed his true colors for the first time forced its way to the forefront of her mind, all but paralyzing her as she relived that night in harrowing detail.

They had only been dating for six months when Charles proposed. It was fast, even at the time Madison knew how insane it was and was uncomfortable moving so quickly, but he was charming, handsome, and spontaneous; she was head over heels for the man and said yes, disregarding the nagging feeling she had to slow things down and get to know him better. Madison should’ve known something wasn’t right when he made her keep their engagement a secret from her family for two and a half years, claiming they made him feel disliked and unwelcome. He promised her that one day she could tell them, but he wanted their engagement to be a happy, exciting time, just for them, untainted by her disapproving family. The red flags were there from the beginning, but she was too smitten to see them for what they were.

A week into their engagement, Charles came home with every last nerve already frayed after a long, difficult day in court sitting helplessly as the opposing council punched holes in his client’s case. Pausing at the door, he heard Madison babbling excitedly and followed her voice into their living room where she was aimlessly wandering around the room with a radiant smile on her face as she talked on the phone, staring at the extravagant diamond ring on her left hand, “So…I’ve got some pretty big news…”

“Who are you talking to?” he demanded, dropping his briefcase in the foyer with a thud, making Madison jump and spin around. He crossed the living room and planted himself directly in her path, his deep green eyes boring into hers as he waited impatiently for an answer.

“Sorry, hang on a sec. Charles just walked in,” she said into the phone before she pulled it away from her mouth. Covering the speaker, she whispered to Charles, her excited smile still on her lips, “First things first; hi! How was the trial?” She stood on her toes and gave him a quick kiss, her smile fading when he didn’t return her affections and kept staring at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t make me ask you again, Mandy. Who are you talking to?”

“Madison Charles, not Mandy. Madison. I wish you’d stop that. How many times do I have to ask? It’s not funny anymore,” she pleaded, but his expression stayed hard and he made no effort to apologize. This new game he liked to play of pretending not to know her name was funny the first time and even the second time, but the longer it went on the worse it made Madison feel and she started wondering if maybe it wasn’t a joke. She forced those thoughts from her mind; he was her fiancé, of course he knew her name. She sighed and forced a smile back onto her face as she tried to joke along with him, “Just try to get it right at the ceremony, okay?” Charles didn’t so much as crack a smile and Madison’s gaze fell to the floor. “Stupid joke, sorry,” she muttered, before looking at him again and finally answering his question, “I’m talking to my sister. It’s already been a week since you popped the question. You can’t really expect me to keep something this big from her. She’s my best friend.”

A dark, angry cloud settled over Charles’ features as he ripped Madison’s phone from her hands and held it to his ear. “She’ll call you back,” he growled before hanging up on Ally. He stood staring at the phone in his hand for a moment and then turned his icy glare back to Madison and shouted, “I told you not to tell your family! Didn’t you hear me or do you just enjoy being a huge pain in my ass?”

Madison tried to hide how much his yelling was scaring her; she stood with her arms folded and met his unforgiving gaze. “I didn’t think that included Ally, you know I tell her everythi-“

“Not when I tell you not to!”

Steadying her nerves and taking a deep breath, Madison calmly and cautiously continued, “I get why you want this to stay between us for now, but keeping this a secret is killing me. I just thought…Ally can keep a secret and she’s been nothing but welcoming to you. I thought you liked her.”

“Whether or not I like her isn’t the point!”

Exasperated, Madison threw her hands up in the air and snapped, “Well then do you mind telling me what is the point? I’m not a mind reader!”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you, damn it!” Charles shouted, throwing her phone at the wall behind her and missing her face by a fraction of an inch.

She flinched and squeezed her eyes shut, ducking out of the way of the phone. When she heard the phone crash to the ground she opened her eyes and turned, slack jawed, and stared at the dent in the wall realizing that could’ve been her face if she hadn’t moved. “That was a new phone!” she exclaimed as she turned to face Charles again, deep in denial and focusing on the smaller issue, ignoring the greater threat he presented.

“And who paid for that phone? I did! You don’t get to be upset! I’m the one out hundreds of dollars because of you!” he fumed, closing what little distance remained between them and getting uncomfortably close to Madison.

“What’s with you tonight? Please calm down, Charles. You’re scaring me,” she pleaded as she put her shaky hands against his chest and weakly pushed him back, no longer concerned with trying to hide the fear coursing through her. She tried to back away from him, but he matched every step she took, refusing to let her put any distance between them and forcing her into a corner. “I screwed up, I’m sorry. I’ll p-I’ll pay you back for the phone. I didn’t know talking to Ally was that big of a deal, I-I’m sorry,” she finished weakly.

“You’re sorry?” Charles shouted, raising his fist. Before she had time to react, Madison was on the ground with tears streaming down her cheeks, gingerly holding where his fist collided with her face, her mind reeling as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. The next thing she knew Charles was standing over her, his six foot two frame all the more intimidating as he towered over her while she cowered on the floor staring at his hand still clenched into a fist, terrified he would hit her again. “You say ‘sorry’ so much, kind of makes me wonder if you even know what it means. I’ve given you everything, I’ve promised to take care of you for the rest of your life and this is how you pay me back? You can’t even do the one, small thing I ask you to do for me and keep your mouth shut? You ungrateful bitch.” He stood over her for a moment longer then abruptly bent down and dragged her to her feet. Once Madison was standing, he forced his phone into her hand, “Get your shit together and call your sister back. And when she asks about your ‘big news’ you tell her about that bed and breakfast I’m taking you to this weekend.”

She numbly took the phone and watched wide eyed as Charles straightened his tie and smoothed his hair back, erasing the evidence of his attack. A second later, the shock wore off as she came to terms with the fact that her fiancé, the man she loved, the man who was supposed to protect her, had hit her. Swallowing her fear, Madison let the betrayal she felt consume her and she shoved him away from her as forcefully as she could in her fragile state, “I’m not going anywhere with you! We’re over!”

An almost genuine looking mixture of shock and hurt played across his features as he spoke and reached for her, “Babe, you don’t mean that. I know you’re scared right now, but you don’t mean that. I’m sorry I lost my temper. Work was…awful today, I know we’re going to lose the trial and it will be on my shoulders and then I come home to you on the phone with your sister… You can be so frustrating sometimes and you know just how to set me off. You can’t leave me, Madison. I’m sorry.” Charles wrapped his arms around her, holding her tighter the more she struggled to get away from him like a python, “You can’t leave, not over such a silly fight.”

Scared by his proximity and too afraid of what would happen if she tried to pull away again, Madison lost her nerve and returned his embrace, foolishly making herself believe his hollow apologies and giving him the first of many undeserved second chances. Through her tears she mumbled, “Okay. It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere, Charles. I’ll stay, but only if you promise-”

“I promise. I won’t let you get under my skin like that again.”

“I mean it. If anything even close to this happens again, I’m gone.”

“Just stop doing what I tell you not to do and it won’t,” Charles replied, roughly cupping the injured side of her face, his tone soft, but his eyes hard and dark.

Madison winced at the pain as he held her face and, still too terrified to do much of anything, she whispered, “I’ll stop. I will. I’m sorry.”

“You always choose your family over me. I just wanted this to be our little secret for now. Was that too much to ask; for you to side with me for once?”

“No, it’s not,” she answered, fighting to keep her voice steady. “I didn’t know I did that. I’m sorry Charles.”

“Apology accepted, baby,” Charles said with a cold smile before forcing his lips on hers. “Now call your sister back before she starts thinking something’s wrong.”

Madison clawed her way back to the present, attempting to leave Charles in the past where he belonged. She sat in the corner of the cell she was supposed to be cleaning with her knees curled up to her chest and her hands in her hair, holding it out of her face, unaware of the steady stream of tears rolling down her face. Try as she might, she couldn’t shake the sense of helplessness and fear that came flooding back when she stupidly opened the door to her past, a door she kept shut for a reason.

Vaguely aware that someone was calling her and not caring one way or the other if whoever was looking for her actually found her she feebly replied, “In here.”

“There y’are. Been lookin’ e’erywhere fer ya…” Daryl fell silent as he entered the cell and saw Madison huddled in the corner crying, her eyes blankly staring forward. “Maddie? What’s the matter?” he asked running to her and sitting on his heels in front of her. “What happened t’ya? C’mon, Buster; answer me,” he pressed, tenderly wiping the tears from her face.

Daryl’s touch snapped Madison out of the fog she’d been in; his clear blue eyes giving her an anchor to keep her focused on the here and now, his very presence chasing away the lingering ghost of Charles that had been haunting her. She lunged forward and threw herself into his arms, craving the security she knew she’d find there. Since the day they met, the safest place in the world to Madison had been at Daryl’s side; even before they were a couple she had always felt safer when she was close to him. She’d never felt that with Charles, even before their relationship turned sour. She cried against Daryl’s strong shoulder as she clearly saw the differences between the two men, chiding herself for once again projecting Charles mistakes onto Daryl. While Daryl constantly tried to protect her, build her up, and do right by her, Charles had taken every opportunity to tear her down and always put himself first, treating her like an afterthought. She knew Daryl wasn’t perfect, but his heart was in the right place and for once she was giving a second chance to someone who truly deserved it.

Eventually he gently pulled her back so he could look at her as he talked, brushing her hair away from her face he quietly asked, “Madison, what the hell’s goin’ on? Are ya okay?”

The bruises on her arm, the catalysts for this embarrassing emotional display, flashed in her mind; if she was going to talk to Daryl about them, now was the time. Her mouth opened, but she couldn’t get the words out. She’d had a moment of clarity in his arms and saw the situation from a new perspective and reminded herself that they’d already discussed this. Daryl had already apologized and she’d already told him everything was fine; she’d seen the sincerity and guilt in his eyes and knew it wasn’t fair to him to bring it up again and continue rubbing his face in his mistake. She’d thought she had to talk to him to prove that she was strong, that she wasn’t who she was a year ago, but looking in his eyes and seeing the love there she realized there was more than one way to be strong.

“Can y’hear me? Please, Maddie; say somethin’! Y’okay?” Daryl asked again, failing to keep the anxiety out of his voice.

Forcing herself to focus she steadied herself on his arm and finally answered him with a nod and a small, tired smile, “I am now.”

A relieved sigh escaped his lips and he cupped her face as he continued in a husky whisper, determined to figure out what was going on, “What was all that ‘bout?”

Madison sighed, “Charles has been on my mind a lot and-”

“Why? That asshole don’t deserve any more of yer time.”

“I know. Sometimes you can’t control where your mind wanders off to and sometimes those memories hit you harder than others.”

Daryl moved his hand from her face and gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, “Ya sure that’s it? E’erythin’ else’s fine?”

“Positive,” she answered, “You’re here now, what could possibly be wrong?” Daryl studied her, narrowing his eyes slightly, as he tried to decide if she was telling him everything. Before he could ask her any more questions, Madison sat back against the wall and changed the subject, “How was your talk with Rick earlier? Did you two come up with a plan for the next few days?”

“We ain’t gonna do much inside the prison ‘til we get t’the armory,” he explained, grunting as he moved to sit next to Madison, placing his hand on her knee, “After what happened t’Hershel Rick don’t want people goin’ in there ‘less they’re prop’ly armed.”

Madison covered his hand with her own and squeezed, enjoying the opportunity to have a moment to themselves, “Good. There’s no reason to go in there again anyway. Our cellblock’s secure; they brought enough food in yesterday to last us awhile so we don’t need to fight our way to the cafeteria anytime soon… This is smart.”

Leaning back against the wall, he turned his head to face her, watching her face carefully, “This mornin’ Glenn was checkin’ out one of the guard towers an’ found out where the armory is. I volunteered t’go check it out.”

Her face fell, “When?”

“T’day.”

“Oh, okay,” she mumbled, dropping her eyes to the floor. She knew how important getting to the armory was, and the sooner the better before another group stumbled across it and picked it clean, but after worrying about him all day yesterday Madison was hoping she could have a day where he stayed close and she didn’t have to agonize over him getting himself killed. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

He shrugged and looked forward again. “Don’t look t’far; be surprised if it takes more than a few hours.” Glancing at Madison from the corner of his eye, he saw her acknowledge his comment with a small nod. “‘Course that’s why I came lookin’ fer ya in the first place; t’see if ya wanted t’come. Ya up fer it?”

“Like you even need to ask,” she answered, rolling her eyes before giving Daryl a quick peck on the cheek. With a smirk, he jumped to his feet and extended his hand to Madison and helped her up. She stopped as they left the cell, “Crap, I’m supposed to be helping Carol clean the blood off the walls. I didn’t even get one cell done.”

“She’ll get over it. An’ if she don’t, jus’ tell ‘er Rick said ‘e wanted ya t’go on the run.”

Surprised, she asked, “He really said that?”

“Well ‘e told me t’find someone t’come with me. ‘Course ‘e knew it’d be you. Close ‘nough,” he chuckled.

“Works for me,” Madison said with a smile as they left the cellblock and crossed the yard, making their way to Daryl’s motorcycle.

Madison closed her eyes and smiled into the sunshine while the wind whipped her hair as Daryl raced along a small, deserted road. It felt like ages since it had been just the two of them on his motorcycle without the rest of the group following closely behind; without having to worry about losing the others Daryl was free to drive as fast as he wanted. As he picked up speed, Madison held on to him tighter, coaxing a lopsided grin onto his face. He glanced behind him and saw the contented smile on her lips. Eventually Madison opened her eyes, rested her head on Daryl’s back, and watched the world zip by, amazed by how easy it was to forget the state of the world on this tiny, relatively unscathed road. A sign up ahead caught her attention; it was the first hint of civilization they’d come across in miles which meant they must be getting close to a town and possibly the armory. Madison squinted as she struggled to make out what the sign said. “Learn n’ Grow Daycare,” she muttered. “Daryl stop!” she cried.

Startled by her sudden outburst, Daryl sharply hit the brakes, “This better be good, why’d ya make me stop?”

“It’s a daycare center,” she responded, jumping off the motorcycle and staring at him expectantly, waiting for him to catch on, “There’s got to be cribs and diapers in here, maybe even formula. For the baby.” Daryl nodded slowly as he started to understand why she was so excited. “I know we can’t take any of that stuff back with us today, but sometime in the next day or two we can come back with the pickup...Lori and Rick will be so relieved. Well, Lori will be at least.”

“B’fore ya get all worked up an’ excited, better check it out make sure it’s worth comin’ back t’,” he stated, swinging his leg over the bike and loading his crossbow. Madison nodded and followed him as they cautiously approached the building. Peeking into a window, Daryl first looked for walkers and then scanned the room for anything useful. “I dunno the first thing ‘bout babies,” he admitted with a frustrated huff before glancing at Madison, “You know better than me what it’s gonna need. Ya wanna check it out? I’ll cover ya.”

With a nod, she took Daryl’s place at the window and examined each room as they made their way around the building, announcing her findings as they went, “It’s dark, but I think I see some bottles on the floor in here. Empty. Empty. Oh, a crib! Nothing. Empty. Looks like there could be, nope. Never mind. Daryl, there’s a lost and found; maybe there’s some clothes in there!”

As they reached the back of the building, there was a chain-link fence cutting through the grass, closing off the outdoor play area. Daryl opened the gate for Madison and closed it behind them once they were in the yard; he came to a stop when he turned around and saw her watching him with a big smile on her face. “What?”

“There’s a lot of good stuff here,” she answered, falling in step beside him and wrapping her arm around his waist, “I mean, I’m not bragging or anything, but this was a good find.”

“Yeah, ya done good, Buster,” Daryl chuckled, pressing a quick kiss to her lips and putting his arm around her shoulders as they rounded the corner of the daycare center.

Madison let out an excited gasp, “Check out that swing set!” Without another word, she broke free from Daryl’s arm and ran over and starting inspecting the swing set. “It’s not in bad shape; I wish there was a way to take this back to the prison. Think if we found some tools we could take it apart here and put it back together there?” she asked, glancing at Daryl as he sauntered towards her.

“An’ why the hell would we do that?” he asked, staring at her like she’d completely lost her mind.

Ignoring his confused, slightly judgmental, expression, Madison carefully sat in one of the swings and began to gently push herself back and forth. Finally meeting Daryl’s gaze, she answered, “Every kid needs a swing set; it will give the baby a fragment of a normal childhood.”

“Ya sure ya want it fer the kid an’ not yerself?” Daryl teased, an unmistakable twinkle in his eye as he gave her a hard time.

“Ha-ha, very funny,” she said, kicking some dirt at him. “Come on, I’m sure you even loved them as a kid.”

“Never been on one b’fore; looks borin’.”

Madison felt like her jaw came unhinged as she gaped at Daryl, “You’re joking. Never?”

He shook his head, looking anywhere but at the woman sitting in front of him, clearly uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking and threw his crossbow on his back. “Nope. That s’weird?”

“Kind of, but I guess it makes sense; you were probably more into catching frogs and climbing trees,” she looked up at him through her lashes as she teased him, “maybe even picking a fight or two with the neighbor kids.”

“Gettin’ warmer, but no,” Daryl replied with a half-hearted chuckle.

Tired of his vague answers, she gave an exasperated sigh, “Well, how am I supposed to know? You never talk about your childhood.”

Daryl’s eyes fell to his shoes, “Don’t expect me t’start now.” Brusquely turning away from Madison, he called over his shoulder as he walked back towards the building, “Let’s get this done s’we can get t’the armory an’ back b’fore dark.”

“Come on, don’t be like that,” Madison begged as she got off the swing and ran over to him. Putting herself in front of him so he would stop walking away from her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and played with his hair as she tried to smooth things over. “I’m just curious; I want to know what little Daryl was like before he was all grown up and moody,” she said with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood with a joke, but fully aware she was treading on thin ice.

“We ain’t talkin’ ‘bout this, Madison!” he snapped, his normally bright blue eyes turning dark as he pushed her arms away and took several steps back. Glaring at her, he continued, “Whaddya want me t’say anyhow? Ya want me t’tell y’about how m’mom set ‘erself an’ the house on fire ‘cause she passed out drunk with a lit cigarette in ‘er hand or how m’dad was always drunk off ‘is ass an’ fergot ‘bout me half the time.” The more he spoke, the more he wanted to stop, but the words kept pouring out of his mouth. Daryl took a small step forward and he ran his hand over his face, pulling his eyes from Madison's face and the anxious concern in her eyes that gently persuaded him to continue venting. He didn’t know what to do with himself, sharing this much of his past made him incredibly uncomfortable, but he had to admit it made him feel better to share his secret pain with Madison. She stood frozen in place as she watched Daryl share a part of himself with her that she was certain he’d shared with another living soul. She fought the urge to take him in her arms and do what she could to take some of his pain away, but she knew if she touched him right now he’d only pull away and shut down so she did the only thing she could do for him and listened quietly. “Those were the good times ‘cause when ‘e was with it ‘nough t’know I’s ‘round…” Daryl didn’t finish his thought, instead he turned back to Madison and looked in her warm brown eyes, the pain in his voice from reliving these memories reflected in his eyes, “One night I snuck int’the house real late an’ ‘e was s’damn wasted ‘e didn’t even recognize me an’ thought I’s robbin’ the place. Took me ‘bout twenty minutes t’convince ‘im I’s ‘is kid an’ t’put the gun down.”

For once Madison didn’t know what to say. She knew Daryl had a rough childhood, but nothing could’ve prepared her for the extent of it. Since the first day on the farm and he guessed right away that her black eye had been courtesy of Charles she’d had her theories about his father; she’d always hoped she was wrong, but it was starting to look like she wasn’t far off and that broke her heart. She couldn’t take it anymore and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly as he hesitantly returned the embrace. A moment later she leaned back to look at him and gave him a sympathetic smile as she lightly touched his face. “Daryl, I-I had no idea,” she whispered, “I shouldn’t have pushed you to talk about it. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

“Don’t want yer pity, Maddie,” he barked, slapping her hand away and storming away from her. He only got a few steps away from her before he spun around, seething, and jabbed an accusatory finger in her direction, “An’ as long as we're talkin’ ‘bout shit we ain’t talkin’ ‘bout; did ya really think I wouldn’t notice them bruises on yer arm? Were ya ever gonna…” Daryl stopped midsentence as he watched in disbelief as Madison turned away from him and started looking up at the sky, blatantly ignoring him, “Ya even listenin’ t’me?”

“Shhh!” she hissed as she held her breath and listened, her eyes never leaving the sky. She thought she heard something, a sound from the past that there was no possible way she could be hearing and she needed silence while she tried to figure out if she was really hearing what she thought she was.

“Don’t ya ‘shhh’ me! Were ya ever gonna tell me ‘bout-”

Madison shot Daryl a withering glare in an attempt to get him to stop talking. “No, I wasn’t. Now I mean it; shut up and listen! Do you hear that?” she asked, returning her attention to the sound above their heads and pointing up.

Confused by her strange behavior and caught off guard by the seriousness in her voice, Daryl turned his face upwards and listened, the argument he tried to start to draw focus away from himself and his childhood forgotten. After a moment of listening, he muttered, “Yeah, yeah I do.”

With wide eyes, Madison turned to him and asked a question she knew sounded insane, “Am I crazy or does it sound like a-”

“A helicopter,” Daryl finished her sentence in a strained whisper. Jumping into action, he grabbed her hand and they took off running towards his motorcycle, “C’mon. Let’s go b’fore we lose it.”

Daryl drove as fast as he dared on the winding road, keeping his eyes trained forward and relying on Madison to tell him which way the chopper was heading as they chased after it. He had no idea what he was expecting to accomplish by following it, he only knew he would hate himself if he didn’t at least try to find out where it came from and get some answers. “Something’s not right; it’s smoking,” Madison shouted over the roar of the engine, “No, no, no! It’s going down!” Daryl risked a quick glance skyward and skidded to a stop as they watched the helicopter crash into the trees. “Why did you stop? Keep driving!” she pleaded, shaking Daryl’s shoulders in a futile attempt to get him moving again.

“E’ery walker fer miles're headin’ this way after that crash.”

“Exactly. They need help. Move it, come on!”

Daryl tightly gripped the handlebar as he fought to keep his temper in check before responding to Madison. There were times he loved how selfless she was and how she wanted to save everyone, but other times, like right now, it frustrated him to no end; there was nothing they could do and she refused to see it and he knew one day her refusal to face the facts would get her into trouble. Turning around to face her, he met her eyes and tried to make her see the reality in front of them, “No one survived a crash that bad-”

“You don’t know that!”

“An’ if they did,” Daryl continued, raising his voice and talking over her, “how d’we help ‘em? We don’t got medical supplies an’ unless y’got some extra seatin’ back there I don’t know ‘bout, we can’t get ‘em back t’the prison. We’re goin’ back.”

“Daryl, please wait; there has to be something we can do,” she begged, her voice filled with desperation.

His eyes narrowed as he studied the urgency behind her expression; he couldn’t figure out why helping these strangers was so important to her. Torn between wanting to make her happy and keeping her safe, Daryl sighed and anxiously scanned the surrounding area for signs of danger before meeting her pleading eyes once again. “Fine. We’ll go back t’the prison an’ tell Rick what happened an’ then we’ll come back with supplies an’ a car. Sorry, Buster; can’t do nothin’ else,” he finished quietly as faced forward and prepared to head back.

Before he could drive away, Madison jumped off the bike. “I’m sorry, but that’s not good enough,” she said as she drew her knife, cast a fleeting apologetic glance at Daryl, and took off in the direction of the crash.

It took a moment for Daryl’s mind to catch up with what just happened and when it did he yelled after her, “Madison! What the hell d’ya think yer doin’? Get yer ass back on this bike!”

“No!” she shouted, turning back to face Daryl and defiantly meeting his stern gaze. “You don’t get it! I can’t leave them; I’ve been where they are. You have no idea how terrifying it is to be hurt and alone out here…”

Finally Daryl was able to understand the need Madison felt to help these people; she identified with them and knew what they were going through. He broke eye contact and glanced down to his side and placed his hand over the scar where the bolt pierced him, “Yeah, I do Maddie.”

She gave him a sad smile as she walked back to the motorcycle and stood next him, “I guess you do. So please try to understand, I can’t just walk away. You go, get back to the prison and do what needs to be done there. You’re right we can’t help them right now. We need a way to get them back to the prison if nothing else.”

“Maddie...”

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted, flashing him a reassuring smile. “Just don’t forget to come back for me, okay?” Before he could argue, she spun around and jogged towards where the chopper went down.

“Hold up,” Daryl huffed, killing the engine and swinging his leg over the bike. Madison stopped when she heard the motorcycle fall silent; a large smile spreading across her face as Daryl ran to her, crossbow in hand, “Y’ain’t doin’ this alone. No sense makin’ more noise than necessary by takin’ the bike; we’ll go on foot.”

“Thank you,” she whispered as they fell into step beside each other and entered the forest, “I know you think this is stupid and it probably is… It’s just something I need to do.” Daryl acknowledged her comment with a grunt, focusing all his attention on looking for signs of trouble.

They tried to make as little noise as possible as they picked their way through the trees, taking out the few walkers that crossed their path on their way to the crash site. Daryl was first to discover the fallen helicopter as he cautiously entered a small clearing, relaxing slightly when the only walkers he could see where lying motionless on the ground. Moments later Madison broke through the tree line and stopped short as she surveyed the carnage surrounding her. “We weren’t fast enough,” she murmured kneeling next to the corpse of a soldier who had been cut in half by the propeller, noting the stab wound to the top of his head. She stood and scanned the area, the shape of a man in the cockpit caught her attention and she crossed to the helicopter to investigate. Carefully peeking into the wreckage she saw right away that this soldier was dead also. Her head drooped briefly before she pulled herself together and examined the body, finding an identical stab wound in his head. Discouraged, she hopped out of the helicopter and called to Daryl, “Someone got here before us; whoever they were they made sure the soldiers wouldn’t come back.”

Daryl pried his eyes away from the sets of tire tracks he was studying and stole a quick glance at Madison as she slowly trudged towards him, disappointment written all over her face. “Yeah, an’ they ain’t hurtin’. They had two trucks with ‘em,” he pointed out, ambling towards Madison and meeting her halfway between the tracks and the helicopter, “Nice ones too, or at least they got good tires on ‘em, based on the tread.”

“And several people in those trucks,” she added with a nod, smiling at Daryl’s dumbfounded expression. “What? Don’t look so shocked; I pay attention when you track. I know things. There’s a ton of footprints here; all different sizes with different tread marks. They’ve got a decent sized group.”

“That’s my girl,” he said with a lopsided grin, putting his hands on her shoulders and leading her back to the wreck to investigate further. He set his crossbow down then climbed into the vacant pilot's seat and began flipping switches and pushing buttons at random, hoping to coax a few more minutes of life from the severely damaged helicopter. “Damn,” Daryl groaned under his breath, smacking the control panel in front of him, “Can’t get the radio t’work.” His eyes darted to Madison as he jumped out of the chopper and grabbed his bow, watching defeat play across her features. “What’s wrong?” he asked quietly, crossing his arms and leaning against the helicopter.

It took Madison a moment to formulate her response; she frowned and looked at the scene in front of her, her eyes settling on the half a soldier lying in front of her. “You were right Daryl,” she admitted, her voice shaking as she pushed her hair out of her face, “No one could survive a crash like this.” Pulling her eyes from the dead soldier, she turned to Daryl and blinked back the tears stinging her eyes, “Sorry I wasted our time, I just wanted…we can’t even make it to the armory now if we want to get back before dark because of me.” She hung her head and glared at the ground with her hands on her hips, “Typical, stupid Madison. I wasted our whole day; all that time and-and gas...for nothing.”

Hearing the discouragement in her voice and listening to her put herself down like that was too much for Daryl to handle and all that mattered to him in that moment was making her feel better. “Knock that off, y’ain’t stupid,” he insisted from where he still leaned against the wreck. Madison scoffed and shook her head, tossing a skeptical look at him. With a groan, Daryl pushed himself away from the helicopter and moved to stand by Madison’s side; he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer to him, pressing his lips to her head gently. “Yer hopeful; the world needs more of that,” he whispered in her ear, his deep voice and warm breath sending an involuntary shiver through her body, despite her melancholy mood. “An’ it ain’t been fer nothin’. We know where t’get some things fer the baby now.”

Madison shrugged and wrapped her arms tightly around herself, her eyes never leaving the mangled helicopter in front of them. “They were soldiers,” she breathed, “As we chased them I let myself start to believe that this meant that somehow it was the beginning of the end of this...thing. That because some remote branch of the military was still operational things would somehow be ok...but they won’t be, will they?” She pried her eyes away and looked up at Daryl, her eyes brimming with tears; her voice cracked as she continued, “This is it. It’s never getting any better, is it? It’s only going to get worse as we keep dying and becoming those things until there’s no one left. See? This is what being hopeful gets you; seeing a helicopter and turning it into some kind of lifeline.” A stray tear fell and she angrily wiped it away. It had been an extremely emotional day; she was exhausted and this crash was simply too much for her to handle on top of everything else. “They were just a couple of random survivors like us who happened to be soldiers before. Just random people who all died in something as stupid as a helicopter crash.”

“Not all.”

It was Madison’s turn to look at Daryl as if he were going insane. The evidence was all around them, the soldiers in this helicopter were dead, “What do you mean?”

Daryl removed his arm and took a few steps forward then pointed to the dirt by the cockpit, “Ya see that? Someone was dragged outta the chopper an’ over t’the trucks. Whoever was here took one of them soldiers with ‘em. Only reason they’d do that is if ‘e was still alive.”

Madison’s lips turned up in a halfhearted smile as she studied the ground and trail in the dirt Daryl had spotted so easily, “At least one of them made it. Still doesn’t change anything.”

“They hadda come from somewhere, Maddie,” he said, standing in front of her and fidgeting with the strap of his bow, “Maybe y’ain’t wrong. Maybe there’re others an’ they’re workin’ on beatin’ this thing.”

A humorless chuckle escaped Madison as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his chest, “You’re sweet for trying to cheer me up, but we both know that’s not true.”

“Y’want the truth? Yer prob’ly right an’ this is the world now-”

“Thanks Daryl, you always know just what to say to make me feel better,” she grumbled.

“Gonna let me finish?” Daryl asked, a hint of aggravation in his voice. He placed his hand under Madison’s chin and gently guided her face up so he could see her; as he spoke the tone of his low, gravelly voice softened, “But when I got ya next t’me, I dunno, it feels like things’re gettin’ ‘lil better even in the middle of this shit storm.” Swallowing back the lump forming in her throat, Madison gazed into Daryl’s eyes as they pleaded with her to believe what he was saying. When she didn’t respond right away, he nervously cleared his throat and looked past her into the trees. An embarrassed smile covered his face and was gone as quickly as it came, “I, uh, I know that ain’t what ya had in mind when ya talked ‘bout things gettin’ better, but-”

She silenced him by putting her finger against his lips and nodding eagerly at him with a large smile on her face, “No, but it’s pretty good; I’ll take it.”

“Don’t give up, ‘kay Buster? One way’r the other, we’ll be ‘lright. I promise,” he whispered, lightly running his fingers across her cheek and down her neck before bending down and kissing her softly.

The distinct snarling of walkers grabbed Madison’s attention; her eyes flew open and she saw a walker closing in behind Daryl. She tore her lips from his, yanked her knife from its sheath, and threw it, hitting her target and dropping the walker to the ground. “Thanks,” he said breathlessly as he unshouldered his bow and cocked it.

“Don’t mention it,” Madison grunted as she pulled at the knife embedded in the walker’s skull. It finally came loose as she looked around them and saw more movement in the trees, “It’s time to go.” Daryl nodded and guided her in front of him as they took off in the direction of the motorcycle, anxious to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the walker infested crash site.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was pointed out to me by a dear friend (thanks!) that in Madison's flashback Charles came across a little flat and generic. I took some time today and tweaked it to, hopefully, give him a little more depth and do justice to the portrayal of Madison's past. I hope it does the job. Thanks for all the support!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure I was going to get this chapter up and I'm certainly going to hate myself when I have to get up for work in four hours, but I think it was worth it. I would've had the update done yesterday, but being the genius I am, I burnt my fingertips while cooking dinner and let me tell you, typing was impossible last night and difficult today. I'm just glad to get this chapter up. I hope you all enjoy it. Many thanks to all those who read, leave kudos, and comment. You've all been so kind and your support and encouragement mean the world to me. Same as always; I in no way own TWD or its characters, I only own Madison.

The early morning sun was beating down on the small group of five as they started organizing the prison yard and getting everything into its proper place. A faint smile played at the corner of Madison’s mouth as she wiped the beads of sweat already breaking out on her brow and stepped aside so Carol could back the pickup away from the gates. The heat was going to make the day’s work even harder, but Madison was still overjoyed at every stride taken to turn the prison into their permanent home.

A week had already gone by since Hershel’s amputation and the helicopter sighting. When Daryl and Madison returned to the prison that night they immediately found Rick and told him what they saw. They were taken by surprise by his reaction when he told them to keep it to themselves insisting that until they knew more about the group that took the surviving soldier that it was best not to let the others know and get their hopes up. He reminded them that the only group they knew of in the area was Randall’s and the fact that they pulled the soldier out of the wreckage and threw him in a truck did not mean they were good people. Madison struggled to keep it a secret, but did as Rick said and instead of dwelling on what she couldn’t do focused her energy on helping Hershel, taking it upon herself to find a pair of crutches. She had a hunch that the infirmary would have some and after a long, drawn out argument with Lori she got permission to have Carl lead Glenn and herself to the infirmary. Words could not describe the relief Madison felt when they found a pair of crutches tucked away in a supply closet in the infirmary; not only was it a huge step in the right direction to get Hershel back on his feet, but she didn’t have to show up empty handed and face Lori after putting her son in danger for no reason. Hershel still hadn’t been able to use the crutches, but it gave Madison peace of mind knowing they were there waiting for him when he was strong enough.

“Okay, let’s get the other cars in. We’ll park ‘em in the west entry of the yard,” Rick’s voice pulled Madison from her thoughts and she walked towards him, ready for her next assignment.

“Good. Our vehicles camped out there look like a giant vacancy sign,” Daryl pointed out, eager to make it clear to any outsiders that the prison was taken.

Rick nodded, acknowledging Daryl’s comment as he led everyone away from the gate and towards the prison, “After that, we need to load up these corpses so we can burn ‘em.”

“Gonna be a long day,” T-Dog sighed.

Madison chuckled and smiled at him, “That’s the understatement of the year, but it’ll be worth it.”

“Where’s Glenn and Maggie? We could use some help,” Carol asked, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the scope of the work that needed to get done.

Daryl glanced at her and pointed as he answered, “Up in the guard tower.”

“Guard tower?” Rick echoed in disbelief, “They were just up there last night.”

“Uh, Rick? I’m guessing they never left…” Madison suggested as she did her best to hide an amused grin. She couldn’t exactly blame them, for the first time in months the group had a place that offered both safety and privacy and it was a hard offer to pass up. Sneaking a quick glance at Daryl a slight blush colored her cheeks; she was just grateful the prison had plenty of other places where people could enjoy some time away from the rest of the group since Glenn and Maggie had been monopolizing the guard tower all week.

Daryl felt someone’s eyes on him and turned his head, catching Madison looking at him with a coy smile on her lips. As if he could read her mind, he raised his eyebrow at her and licked his lips as a mischievous grin spread across his face causing her blush to deepen. He pulled his eyes from Madison’s and turned towards the guard tower and yelled, “Glenn! Maggie!”

“Hey, what’s up guys?” Glenn called down, poking his head out the door while hastily doing up his pants.

“Daryl, leave them alone,” Madison whispered, trying not to laugh.

Encouraged by her stifled laughter, Daryl continued shouting up to Glenn, “Ya comin’?”

“What?” Glenn asked.

It was no use holding back her laughter as everyone else around her chuckled as Daryl kept teasing the couple in the tower. “Ya comin’?” he hollered again, laughing at his own joke. Glenn said nothing and turned to look at Maggie who was still hiding inside; at this distance Madison couldn’t be sure, but judging by his sluggish movements and his head going back and forth between Daryl and Maggie, poor Glenn seemed extremely confused. “C’mon, we could use a hand,” Daryl yelled over his shoulder as he turned back towards the cars, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

“You really shouldn’t have done that,” Madison said, standing with her hands on her hips and trying to give him a disapproving look, but failing to hide her smile.

“Whaddya mean? It was funny,” he replied, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

“What goes around comes around and then you won’t think it’s so funny.” Madison gave Daryl a sidelong glance and giggled as the smirk fell of his face as he realized she was right. She stretched up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, “But you’re right, it was funny.”

Daryl shot her a playfully irritated look, but before he could think of a comeback T directed everyone’s attention back to the prison. “Hey, Rick,” he said quietly, staring at the two inmates making their way towards the group.

The smile on Rick’s face was replaced by a scowl as he watched them come closer. “Come with me,” he muttered under his breath to T and Daryl who immediately followed the former sheriff. “That’s close enough,” he warned the inmates, bringing them to a stop, “We had an agreement.”

The gravel crunched beneath Madison’s feet as she slowly followed the men, glancing over her shoulder and seeing Carol only a few steps behind her. “C’mon, Maddie; ya shittin’ me?” Daryl grumbled when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw her red hair appear next to him. Madison glared at him, daring him to tell her leave. “Fine,” was all he could say as he reminded himself of the many times he’d promised to stop being so overprotective, but all he could see when he looked at the two men in front of them was the humiliated flush on her cheeks when she thought these perverts had been watching the two of them kiss. Instinct took over and Daryl took a small, defensive step closer to Madison, determined to do whatever he could to keep her safe since she insisted on saying where she was.

The inmate with dirty blond hair and a mustache, over the course of the week Madison had learned his name was Axel, was the first to speak up and insisted that they couldn’t live in their cellblock any longer. She studied the inmates as they spoke, trying to decide if they could be trusted or not. They pleaded their case to Rick and the others, practically begging to be allowed to join the group and not to be forced to stay in the cellblock that had been cleared for them a week ago. They described the horror of having to toss out the rotten corpses of their friends like they were garbage and Madison felt their pain as she imagined being forced to live in the room where Maggie, Glenn, or Lori had died if they'd been murdered and having to drag out and throw away Rick’s body or Hershel’s or Daryl’s. While she still had her reservations about them and far from trusted them, she didn’t believe anyone should be forced to go through that.

The other inmate, a tall African American man named Oscar, didn’t get emotional like Axel and instead calmly stated the facts as he met Rick’s unforgiving gaze, “We’ve all made mistakes to get in here, chief. And I’m not gonna pretend to be a saint, but believe me we’ve paid our due; enough that we would rather hit that road than go back into that shithole.”

The determination in Oscar’s voice took Madison by surprise; she peeked at Rick and saw his resolve waver momentarily and she knew the inmates’ argument had struck a chord with him. Rick turned slightly and looked to Daryl for his opinion and he shook his head. “That’s your choice,” Rick said fixing his gaze on the pair of men in front of him once more, “It’s like I said before, our deal’s not negotiable.”

“Ya heard ‘im, the exit’s this way; c’mon,” Daryl grunted as he escorted Oscar and Axel to the gates.

After taking a deep breath, knowing she was probably the only one who felt this way, Madison quietly spoke up, “Shouldn’t we talk about this?”

Rick tilted his head slightly as he stared at her in disbelief and wondered if he heard her correctly. T-Dog cleared his throat, “I’m with her on this, Rick.”

“Fine, we’ll talk. Everyone that wants to be part of the discussion, let’s head behind the bus,” Rick ordered, doing his best to keep the frustration out of his voice as he directed the group behind the overturned bus by the front gate. Once they were hidden from the prisoners and could speak freely, Rick’s irritated eyes flickered back and forth between Madison and T, “Are you serious? You want them livin’ in a cell next to you? They’ll just be waitin’ for a chance to grab our weapons. You want-you want to go back to sleepin’ with one eye open?”

“I never stopped,” T answered Rick.

Daryl sauntered back to the group and stood next to Madison, “What the hell’s this?”

“T and your girlfriend think we should give them a chance and let them stay,” Carol answered.

Madison could feel Daryl’s eyes on her, but refused to look at him. “What’s with ya an’ standin’ up fer people don’t deserve it, huh?” he asked, frustration clearly audible in his strained voice.

“I just think there has to be another option we’re not seeing,” Madison explained, finally meeting his gaze.

“There is, bring them into the fold,” T continued, ignoring Daryl’s interruption, “If we send them off packin’, we might as well execute them ourselves.”

“I don’t know. Axel seems a little unstable,” Glenn pointed out with a sigh.

“You would be too if you’d spent the week clearing our bodies out of the cellblock,” Madison mumbled, folding her arms and looking at the ground as she dug the toe of her boot into the dirt.

Carol anxiously looked around the group as she gauged everyone’s frame of mind, “After all we’ve been through? We fought so hard for all this, what if they decide to take it?”

“What if they decide to take it?” Madison parroted Carol’s question, “It's two against eleven...I think we'll be ok.”

“It’s just been us for so long,” Maggie whispered, “They’re strangers. I don’t-it feels weird all of a sudden to have these other people around.”

“You brought us in,” T countered, standing his ground and looking at Maggie.

She scoffed, “Yeah, but you turned up with a shot boy in your arms. Didn’t give us a choice.”

“They can’t even kill walkers,” Glenn added.”

“You’re right, they can’t. And you want to send them out that gate?” Madison challenged, her voice rising slightly as she aggressively pointed to the gate behind the bus, “We’ve had a year to adjust to what’s out there; they’ve been locked up in a cafeteria. You’re telling me you can live with yourself knowing that we shoved them out into the world unprepared? They’ll be dead within a week.”

“They’re convicts, bottom line,” Carol insisted.

“So they don’t deserve a chance to prove themselves because they messed up once?” Madison snarled, “Their lives don’t mean as much as ours? Do we even know what they were locked up for?”

Rick wearily rubbed his temples, “Axel for pharmaceutical drugs and Oscar for breakin’ and enterin’.”

“So they say,” Maggie mumbled, avoiding Madison’s cold glare.

T shook his head at the group surrounding him, “Those two might actually have less blood on their hands than we do.”

“I get guys like this,” Daryl said, finally breaking his silence, “Hell, I grew up with ‘em. They’re degenerates, but they ain’t psychos. I coulda been in there with ‘em jus’ as easy as I’m out here with y’guys.”

Madison stared up at him in utter shock that he was on their side. “So you’re with me?” T asked not so much for confirmation, but so the others could hear him say it.

“Hell no,” Daryl shot at him and gesturing beyond the prison fences, “Let ‘em take their chances out on the road jus’ like we did.”

T threw his head back in frustration and turned to Daryl, “What I’m sayin’, Daryl-“

Ignoring T’s attempt to talk to him, Daryl faced Madison, narrowing his eyes as he asked her quietly so the others wouldn't overhear, “An’ how can ya defend ‘em? Don’t ya remember the other night?”

“Of course I do, Daryl,” she whispered as her eyes fell to the ground once again and she tucked her hair behind her ears, uncomfortable discussing that night within earshot of the others. “But that doesn’t mean they deserve to die. And they will if we make them leave,” she finished, pulling herself upright and looking Daryl in the eye.

The group was huddled so closely that, despite Daryl’s efforts to keep his conversation with Madison private, they couldn’t help but overhear Daryl and Madison’s exchange. “Wh-what happened the other night?” Glenn finally asked.

“Nothing,” Madison said sharply as she shot him an icy glare, silently warning him to drop it. She’d felt so violated that night and didn't want to get into it again; it was hard enough having Daryl bring it up, let alone discussing it with people it had nothing to do with.

Daryl shook his head and crossed his arms across his chest, “Those sons of bitches were watchin’ ‘er while we sucked face in the yard.”

Mortified by Daryl’s frankness, Madison covered her face with her hands and groaned wishing she could crawl into a hole and pull it closed behind her. “We don’t know that for sure,” she insisted, her words muffled by her hands. She dropped her hands and planted them on her hips as she returned her focus to Daryl, ignoring the shocked and curious stares of those surrounding her, “And even if they were I still can’t sentence them to death over it. Didn’t you hear them? They sound like decent guys-” Rick’s incredulous laugh caught Madison’s attention and she turned to face him and saw the skeptical looks on everyone’s faces; she huffed and corrected her statement, “relatively decent guys.”

“When I was a rookie, I arrested this kid. Nineteen years old, wanted for stabbin’ his girlfriend,” Rick began, his eyes never leaving Madison’s as he recounted his story, “The kid blubbered like a baby durin’ the interrogation, durin’ the trial-suckered the jury. He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence and then, two weeks later, shot another girl. We’ve been through too much…”

“That’s awful and I’m sorry that happened, but that doesn’t mean these guys-”

“Our deal with them stands,” Rick cut Madison off coldly, warning her to drop the subject.

She took a deep breath to collect herself, “Then you’re killing them. All of you.” Shooting one final scathing glare at Rick, she turned on her heel and trudged towards the prison.

“Madison!” Daryl shouted after her, torn between frustration and concern.

“I’m going to go check on Hershel,” she yelled without looking back, “I can’t even look at you right now!” She reached the door that led to their cellblock and placed her hand on the handle, but couldn’t bring herself to go inside just yet. Instead she sunk onto the steps and sat in a sliver of shade while she tried to compose herself, there was no point working up everyone inside because of her bad mood. Through a series of deep breaths she tried to let go of the anger gnawing at her; she was angry that her and T’s argument fell on deaf ears, she was angry at the outcome, and she was angry at herself for storming away like a moody teenager and not staying behind where her help was really needed. If she was being honest with herself, she could see Rick’s side of the argument; but she hated seeing how closed off to newcomers the group was becoming and knowing that if Daryl had found her in the woods now rather than a year ago, she wouldn’t have been given sanctuary within the group. As her mind continued to wander, she looked at her hands and wondered when the group had become so concerned with what someone had done in the past. Everyone knew about Charles and what he’d done to her, but Daryl was the only one who knew she’d killed him. It was self-defense, but she asked herself if she’d still be welcome if the others ever found out she had the blood of the living on her hands.

The cellblock door flew open and Madison whipped her head around, all of her frustrations and doubts forgotten when she saw Hershel step through the door on his crutches surrounded by Lori, Beth, and Carl. “Hershel! I can’t believe it; look at you!” Madison exclaimed, jumping to her feet and giving the group room to get Hershel down the stairs.

“I’ve never seen so many people make such a fuss about a grown man steppin’ outside for some fresh air,” he said as he gave her a warm smile.

Lori smiled as she slowly backed down the steps, resting her hand against Hershel’s chest to steady him, “Don’t lose focus. I got you here if you need it.”

“Just take your time on these steps,” Beth added, excitement and worry written on her young face.

After the words left Beth’s mouth, as if on cue, Hershel briefly lost his balance. Gasps escaped everyone around him as one of his crutches slipped from under him, but he quickly righted himself and made it down the last few steps safely. “You cleared all those bodies out?” he asked as he slowly made his way across the courtyard, amazed by how different it looked from the last time he saw it, “It’s starting to look like a place we could really live in.”

Madison rested her hand on his shoulder, “It really is. Kind of a miracle, right?”

“Hey, you watch your step,” Loir interjected, redirecting Hershel’s attention, “Last thing we need is you falling.”

“You’re doin’ great Daddy!” Beth encouraged her father while beaming uncontrollably at him.

Carl looked up at the older man walking next to him, “Ready to race, Hershel?”

“Give me another day. I’ll take you on,” Hershel responded with a look of mock determination on his face, pulling a chuckle from those surrounding him.

After a few more steps across the courtyard, Hershel came to a stop to catch his breath and take a good, hard look at the work that had been done on the prison while he’d been stuck in bed. Stopping next to Hershel, Madison heaved a contented sigh as she looked out across the prison yard, her eyes falling on Daryl on the far side of the yard by the outer fences with Rick and Glenn; the prison still had a long way to go before it would be home and she still wasn’t happy about the outcome with the inmates, but all of that faded away now that Hershel was walking. Today had been a good day, she thought as she let her guard down for the first time since they moved in.

“Walkers! Look out!” Carl yelled.

Carl’s sudden warning startled Madison and she immediately pulled her gun from her holster, stepped forward and opened fire, putting herself between the advancing horde and Hershel. “Beth! Get your dad out of here now!” she barked, taking control of the situation. Lori and Carl joined Madison and started shooting, although their efforts seemed in vain as more and more walkers flooded the courtyard. Moments later Maggie, Carol, and T-dog joined the fight, much to Madison’s relief; they desperately needed the backup if they were ever going to get the upper hand against the onslaught.

“Lori! Here!” Maggie shouted, directing Lori’s attention to the enclosed staircase that led to C block, her biggest concern keeping the pregnant woman safe.

“Come on, baby. We can’t take them on; we need to get to safety,” Lori said to Carl guiding him towards the staircase. “Madison! This way!”

Madison whipped around, following the sound of Lori’s voice as she led her son out of danger and took one uncertain step in their direction, tempted to join them and run for cover. She changed her mind when she heard the continued gunfire from Carol and T; if they weren’t running away neither could she. Raising her gun, she shot two walkers staggering towards Lori and Carl and cleared a path for them to safely reach Maggie.

“Turn around, Madison! Behind you!” Hershel called to the redhead, his voice scarcely rising above the pandemonium.

Madison glanced over her shoulder and let out a startled scream when she saw how many walkers were closing in on her. Years of self-defense training kicked in and she elbowed the nearest walker, knocking it to the ground then crushing its skull with her foot before it could crawl towards her. Stumbling away from the monsters reaching for her, she started shooting again. “No, no, no! Not now!” she gasped when she ran out of bullets; with no other option she spun her gun around in her hand and used the butt to bash them as they got closer.

Shots rang out behind her and the surrounding walkers started falling to the ground. Out of immediate danger for the time being, Madison paused to catch her breath, only turning around when she felt a small hand grab her wrist. “We need to go, come on!” Carl insisted, dragging her with him towards the staircase where Lori and Maggie were waiting. Once they joined the others, Maggie ushered Madison and Carl up the stairs while Lori closed the gate behind them and quickly followed them into the cellblock then shut that door as well.

Moments later Daryl, Rick, and Glenn burst into the courtyard; there were only a handful of walkers left in the courtyard after T managed to shut the gate where the walkers were getting in before he and Carol disappeared into the prison. Rick shot two walkers and then turned to Beth and Hershel who had locked themselves in another caged off staircase. “What the hell happened?” he demanded, looking for answers while Daryl and Glenn took out the remaining walkers.

“The gate was open,” Beth blurted, shaken from the terrifying ordeal.

“Where’s Lori? Carl? Everyone else?”

Hershel pointed to the stairs leading to C block, “Maggie led Lori and Carl into C block. Madison was with them.”

“And T was bit!” Beth added.

“Anyone else?” Rick pressed the young girl, afraid of the answer and gesturing wildly with his gun.

“I couldn’t tell,” she replied, “But Madison was surrounded and I heard her screamin’.”

Daryl pulled his eyes from the walker he’d just stabbed and stared in Beth’s direction then ran towards her. The color drained from his face and he could feel his heart being ripped from his chest as he ran Beth’s words over in his mind, hoping he’d heard wrong. His deepest fear had come to fruition and he was reminded of why he kept people at arm’s length; people couldn’t hurt him when he didn’t let them get close to him. Straining to keep his voice steady he asked quietly, “Maddie got bit?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t really see-”

“What the hell did ya see?” he shouted, cutting her off mid-sentence.

Beth swallowed, scared by Daryl’s yelling, and feebly repeated herself, “She-she was surrounded and I heard her scream.”

“Did ya...did ya see blood?” he sputtered, desperately grasping for any other explanation for what Beth was telling him.

“I don’t know...I think-maybe? I’m not sure. There was so much goin’ on I can’t remember,” Beth whispered as she dropped her gaze, the pain in Daryl’s eyes too much for her to bear.

Frantic, Daryl spun around and faced Rick, “We gotta get in there. We gotta go find ‘em.” The holes in Beth’s account gave him reason to hope, but if she was right he had to be there for Madison; he needed to see her one last time before the unthinkable happened.

With an understanding nod to Daryl, Rick pointed to Beth and Hershel and told them to stay put before running across the courtyard towards Glenn with Daryl right beside him, anxious to check on the wellbeing of his own family. “Those chains didn’t break on their own,” Glenn informed the other two men, “Someone took an ax or cutters to ‘em.” Rick slowly turned around and narrowed his eyes as he watched Axel and Oscar apprehensively make their way into the courtyard. Following Rick’s gaze, Glenn asked, “You think they did it?”

“Who else?” Rick answered, his eyes never leaving the inmates until the relative quiet of the courtyard was shattered when an alarm mysteriously started sounding.

Maggie took point and led the small group through the maze of corridors as walkers pushed them deeper inside the prison with Carl right behind her and Lori and Madison bringing up the rear. Alarms suddenly cut through the tense silence bringing them to an abrupt stop. “That’s not good,” Madison mumbled under breath as she gently pushed Maggie and Carl forward, “Those things’ll be swarming these halls any minute. We need to find a place to hide right now.” With a sharp nod, Maggie starting moving again while Madison hung back with Lori, matching her pace as the expectant mother started slowing down. As Lori’s breathing became labored, Madison stole a quick sidelong glance in her direction, “Stupid question, but are you doing all right?” Lori could only answer with a brisk nod as she focused all of her energy on trying to keep up with Maggie and Carl.

As they rounded a corner Lori stopped short and groaned in pain, clinging to Madison and the wall for support. Maggie and Carl heard Lori and fell back to check on her. “Can you keep up?” Maggie asked, bracing Lori by placing her hands on either side of her.

“Something’s not right,” Lori managed to say through the pain.

“Are you bit?” Carl asked, running to his mom, panic easily heard in his small voice.

With some difficulty, Madison helped Lori turn around and face her son. “No, no, no,” Lori assured her boy, “I think the baby’s coming.”

“Mom?”

Through the darkness Madison heard the snarls getting louder as the walkers approached. “Perfect,” she groaned as she released Lori and wielded her knife. “It’s now or never guys, we need to move.”

Carl stood beside Madison and raised his gun as the walkers came into view. “No, there’s no time. Turn back,” Maggie instructed as she wrapped her arm around Lori and helped her follow Madison and Carl who were now in the lead.

The group wound their way through the labyrinth and was barely able to stay ahead of the walkers as they followed Lori’s cries. “In here!” Carl called to the others as he opened the door to the boiler room, pulling it closed after everyone was safely inside.

“Go ahead and check on your mom; I’ve got the door,” Madison whispered, placing her hand on Carl’s shoulder and then looking into the hallway through a crack in the door. The door had been bent somehow and now it wouldn’t shut tightly, but she tried to pull it closed tighter anyway for the sake of feeling like she was doing something. Logically she knew they were safe, chances were that the walkers wouldn’t be able to get inside since the door opened into the hallway, it would take some sort of bizarre coincidence for a walker to open the door; but the image of that rotting hand pulling on the tabletop flashed in Madison’s mind and she reminded herself that it even though it was unlikely it could happen.

She tried her best to focus all her attention on the threat from outside, but couldn’t stop herself from listening in as Maggie coached Lori through labor, wincing with every grunt and cry that escaped Lori’s lips and praying that the alarms would drown her out. “Lori, stop! Don’t push, somethin’s wrong,” Maggie exclaimed and Lori screamed in agony. After hearing the scream, Madison turned and saw blood covering Maggie’s hand and she immediately abandoned her post by the door and ran down the small flight of stairs to offer her help.

Together she, Maggie, and Carl helped Lori to the floor. Madison sat back on her heels while Maggie put her hand to Lori’s face and tried to get her to focus. Lori looked incredibly fragile lying on the floor; her mahogany hair emphasizing how pale she was from the blood loss. “Mom?” Carl asked as he took her hand, his own hand trembling. “Mom, look at me. Look at me. Keep your eyes open!”

“We have to get you back to Dad,” Maggie insisted; she tried to keep her voice calm so she wouldn’t upset Lori, but she couldn’t hide the fear in her eyes.

“I’m not gonna make it,” Lori mumbled weakly, fighting with everything she had left to speak.

Madison shook her head and patted Lori’s brow dry, “Don’t talk like that. We’ll get you the help you need. Just hold on a little longer; everything will be fine.”

“Lori, with all this blood, I don’t even think you’re fully dilated yet,” Maggie said after another hasty exam, “No amount of pushin’ is gonna help.”

Lori closed her eyes as she came to terms with what Maggie was telling her. “I know what it means and I’m not losing my baby,” she paused and looked to Madison first and then to Maggie, “You’ve gotta cut me open.”

“No. I can’t,” Maggie instantly replied, looking at Madison with pleading eyes and hoping she would have another solution.

“You don’t have a choice,” Lori explained calmly.

Carl sprang to his feet, “I’ll go for help.”

“No!” all three women shouted in unison.

“Carol’s the one that practiced that. Dad only taught me the steps, Lori. If I-” Maggie rambled as she tried to dissuade Lori from going forward with the C-section.

“I watched Carol practice,” Madison softly spoke up, looking away from Lori and catching Maggie’s eye, “I’ve at least seen it. I’ll do it.”

Maggie shook her head, “No, Madison. We can’t-”

“Please,” Lori begged.

With a deep breath Maggie continued, “I have no anesthetic, no equipment-”

“Carl has a knife,” Lori pointed out.

“You won’t survive,” Maggie said, devastated by the thought of being the one to kill Lori, even if it was for the sake of the baby.

Lori was getting weaker the longer they argued, but her resolve never wavered as she fought for her unborn child. “My baby has to survive,” she murmured as it became increasingly difficult for her to breathe, “Please. My baby...for all of us. Please, Maggie! Madison! One of you...please!” Maggie shook her head, unable to speak. “Please,” Lori pleaded with desperation in her eyes. Maggie finally conceded, nodding weakly as she fought to hold back her tears. A faint, grateful smile covered Lori’s face for a moment before fading away as she weakly tugged at the hem of her shirt. Eventually Maggie got the hint and lifted it up for her, exposing Lori’s protruding belly. “You see my old C-section scar?” she asked, giving Maggie a point of reference for the procedure.

“I can’t!” Maggie blurted, shaking her head vigorously as the reality of what she was about to do hit her and changed her mind.

“You can, you have to!” Lori demanded before breaking eye contact with Maggie and turning to her son to say her last goodbye.

Struggling to stay composed herself, Madison scooted across the floor and sat by Maggie in an attempt to give Lori and Carl some semblance of privacy in their final moment together. She looked at Maggie who sat staring blankly across the room, her hands trembling. With a sad smile, Madison took the slightly younger woman’s hand in hers. “You don’t have to do this, Maggie,” she whispered, “Let me do it for you. I watched Carol practice, I didn’t cut, but at least I’ve seen it done. I know your dad taught you, bu-”

“No,” Maggie mumbled, slowly turning to look at Madison. “I know as much about this as you do, but I grew up on a farm. I know more about,” she paused and searched for the right word, choking on it as it left her mouth, “...butcherin’ than you.” She turned and watched Lori hug her boy for the last time, “She’s gonna die either way. We gotta think of the baby now and I can get it out without cuttin’ it.”

Madison nodded and followed Maggie’s gaze. She felt like she was intruding on the beautifully tragic moment between mother and son, but she couldn’t look away; for all of Lori’s faults and the many times she’d annoyed Madison, she couldn’t help but marvel at Lori’s strength in this moment. To willingly end her life for her baby was the purest act of love Madison had ever seen. She wiped away her silent tears and wondered if she could ever be that strong.

After a prolonged embrace which ended far too soon, Lori gave Carl a kiss and gently sat him up. “Okay, now. Okay,” she repeated as she prepared herself for what was about to happen. Peeling her eyes away from Carl, Lori turned to women sitting by her feet. “Maggie, Madison, when this is over, one of you is gonna have to-”

“Shhh,” Maggie hissed, trying to silence the woman lying on the floor. It was hard enough for her to do what she knew needed to be done without dwelling on the end result and the precautions they would need to take.

“You have to do it,” Lori spoke over Maggie, “It can’t be Rick.”

“We’ll do what we have to,” Madison whispered as she slid back up to Lori’s head and laid it in her lap, running her fingers through Lori’s hair in a feeble attempt to soothe her. “Don’t worry. We’re here for you; we’ve got you.”

Lori grabbed Madison’s hand and squeezed it tightly, shutting her eyes and taking a few more deep breaths. “All right...all right,” she muttered, releasing Madison’s hand and touching Carl’s face one final time. Without looking away from his mom, Carl handed Maggie his knife. A serene expression covered Lori’s face as she softly said to her boy, “Goodnight, love.”

“I’m sorry, Lori,” Maggie sniffled before making the initial cut. Lori’s screams pierced the air and Madison did her best to comfort the dying woman in her arms.

“What are you doing to her?” Carl shouted at Maggie as she sliced deeper into Lori’s abdomen. Suddenly Lori’s cries stopped and her eyes closed. Tears were streaming down Madison’s face while she held Lori tightly as she convulsed and the last traces of life left her body.

“Carl, give me your hands,” Maggie ordered, focusing intently on delivering the baby and not letting the deafening silence in the room affect her, “Carl, please. You should keep the site clean, okay? If I cut too deep, I’m gonna cut the baby.” Carl hesitantly did as he was told and held the incision open with one hand while he stared at his mother’s lifeless face. Madison glanced at him and saw the tears rolling down his cheeks; her eyes then flickered to his small hand holding open his mother’s belly and she noticed that he wasn’t pulling the incision back as far as Maggie needed. Gently laying Lori’s head back on the floor, Madison moved down by Maggie once again and retracted the site more completely giving Maggie the visualization she needed. Maggie’s eyes flickered to Madison’s face in a silent thank you before she looked back to the baby. “Okay, come on...I see it. I see the ears. I’m gonna pull it out,” she narrated, talking herself through the steps, “I can’t tell if this is the arm or the leg. Okay, I’m gonna pull the baby out.”

Madison watched in horror as Maggie pulled the blue, silent, baby from its mother’s body; heartbroken that the baby might not survive after Lori made the ultimate sacrifice. Maggie rubbed the newborn’s chest in hopes of stimulating the heart and then carefully turned it over and rubbed its back. After several excruciating seconds, the most beautiful sound Madison had ever heard filled the room as the baby started crying. She pulled her knife out and cut the umbilical cord while Maggie did her best to clean some of the blood off the newborn and wrapped her in Carl’s jacket. “We have to go,” she said rising her feet, anxious to get the baby to Hershel and to get away from Lori’s mutilated corpse.

“We can’t just leave her here,” Carl sputtered, “She’ll turn.”

Careful not to disturb the baby, Maggie tried to adjust her hold on the bundle in her arms and reach for her gun. “No, Maggie. You just worry about that little girl,” Madison said, adjusting her grip on her knife and taking a step towards Lori.

“No,” Carl said through his tears.

“Carl…” Maggie began, unsure of his sudden hesitance. She sympathized with the young man, of course, but Lori had been gone for several minutes; something had to be done, the clock was ticking.

He pulled out his gun and looked between Madison and Maggie, “She’s my mom.” Maggie’s face fell, but she nodded and carried the baby up the stairs and towards the door. Carl looked at Madison, expecting her to either try to stop him or to leave as well, but when she stayed where she was and put her knife away he turned back to Lori and fell to his knees and hugged her again, saying his last goodbyes. When he stood again, Madison slowly reached out for the young boy and rested her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mom. For everything,” he muttered under his breath. After several deep breaths, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger, the loud gunshot echoing through the silent space.

“I’m so sorry Carl,” Madison whispered as he turned around and wrapped his small arms around her tightly as quiet sobs shook his body. As quickly as he hugged her, he let her go and spun around to leave with an empty expression on his face.

With Maggie carrying the baby and Carl in a state of shock, it fell to Madison to lead them out of the tunnels, praying all the while that the baby wouldn’t cry and lead the walkers straight to them. Moving as quickly as she could without leaving the others behind, she carefully guided them through the maze and back out to the courtyard where all hell had broken loose earlier. She opened the door and the three of them slowly made their way down the steps that had been the setting for Hershel’s great triumph what seemed like an eternity ago.

Maggie managed to push open the gate and was the first to enter the courtyard, the baby’s cries announcing their arrival. Rick froze at the sound then slowly turned; his face fell as he took in the baby in Maggie’s arms and their blood stained hands. “Where-where is she? Where is she?” he repeated, his mind already knew the answer, but his heart refused to accept the truth and he rushed past Maggie to go find Lori for himself.

“No...Rick, no!” Maggie cried, reaching for his arm to stop him as best she could with his daughter in her arms.

The pain on Rick’s face broke Madison’s heart, for all the problems between them lately, she never doubted that he was still in love with his wife, his reaction proved her right. She put her hand on Carl’s shoulder and walked with him towards the others until the shock finally overtook him and his legs refused to work anymore. Not wanting him to be by himself, she stood next to Carl as she watched their resilient leader crumble before her eyes. Eventually Rick gathered himself enough and his eyes fell on his son; Madison squeezed Carl’s shoulder and stepped away as Rick walked over to his boy, giving them space to mourn as a family. “Oh, no. No! No!” Rick’s sobs echoed through the courtyard as he realized by Carl’s expression that he’d been the one to make sure Lori didn’t turn. Overwhelmed with grief Rick fell to the ground and wept for his wife and what his son had to do.

When she left Carl’s side, Madison made a beeline for Daryl who enveloped her in his powerful arms and kissed her cheek as he held her as tightly as humanly possible. He knew she’d been through hell, but in light of watching Rick grieve for his wife all Daryl felt at the moment was gratitude to have her back safely in his arms with no evidence of a bite.

On the other side of the courtyard she could hear Rick, Maggie, and the baby crying and she couldn’t hold herself together any longer and begin crying herself. Madison understood that compared to what Maggie was going through she had it easy, but that didn’t change the fact that should could still feel Lori twitching then going limp in her arms, a feeling that she was sure would haunt her for as long as she lived. Desperately trying to forget, she focused on the warmth and steadiness of Daryl’s embrace and listened to his heart, forcing herself to concentrate on the sensation of holding someone who was alive.

Moments later Daryl ended the hug, ran his hands down Madison’s arms, and took her shaking hands in his; he wanted her to know that he was still there for her, but his attention turned to Rick who seemed to have slipped into some sort of a daze. Glancing to Madison, Daryl squeezed her hands before letting go of her and jogging over to Rick. Kneeling down in front of the widower he waved his hand in front of Rick’s face, “Rick, ya with me? Rick?”

“Let me see the baby,” Hershel demanded. Maggie nodded and handed Carl his little sister. He hesitantly took the baby from Maggie and carried her over to Hershel, all the while looking at his sister like she was a poisonous snake. Madison noticed the expression on Carl’s face and hoped it would fade.

“What’re we gonna feed it?” Daryl asked Hershel, joining everyone else as they huddled around the newborn, “We got anythin’ a baby can eat?”

Hershel examined the baby quickly. “The good news is she looks healthy,” he mumbled before turning to Daryl and answering him, “But she needs formula, and soon or she won’t survive.”

“Nope. No way. Not ‘er.” Daryl shook his head and threw his bow over his shoulder, “We ain’t losin’ nobody else. I’m goin’ fer a run.” He caught Madison’s eye and gestured towards the cars with his head, telling her that he wanted to her come with him and she nodded in agreement without hesitation.

“I’ll back you up,” Maggie volunteered, her voice tight with the strain of the past hour.

“I’ll go too,” Glenn added.

“Okay, think where we’re goin’,” Daryl instructed. “Beth,” he said quietly, pulling the young girl aside, “Kid jus’ lost ‘is mom, ‘is dad ain’t doin’ so hot…”

Beth nodded as Daryl spoke, “I’ll look out for him.”

Daryl sighed and gave her a brisk nod then turned to the two inmates standing on the outskirts of the group and shouted, “Y’two get the fence. Too many pile up, we got ourselves a problem.” Turning to Madison he put his hand on the small of her back and led her towards the vehicles. His brow furrowed as he watched her numbly move forward and he wondered if she was up for a run or not, but after running through the prison for an hour thinking she was dead or dying, he didn’t want to let her out of his sight. “Ya good?” he whispered in her ear.

She looked up at him and gave him a sad, unconvincing smile. “Good enough,” she sighed.

With a nod, Daryl called over his shoulder, “Glenn! Maggie! Vamonos!” He heard Maggie call out for Rick and turned around just in time to see him disappear into the prison with an ax in his hand. Realizing that Rick was worse off that he thought, Daryl was even more anxious to get on the road and started barking orders to those around him, “Get the gate! C’mon, we’re gonna lose the light!”

Madison only half-listened to the others as they tossed around ideas of where to scavenge for formula and she chided herself for not insisting that she and Daryl go back to the daycare center they found sooner. “I can take one of ya.” Daryl’s voice and the sudden change in plans caught her attention. Meeting her eyes as he silently asked if she wanted to be the one that went with him, she nodded and took his bow from his outstretched hand and strapped it on the back of his motorcycle.

“I’ll go,” Maggie blurted before Madison had a chance to climb on the bike behind Daryl. Glenn tried to convince Maggie to stay, but she shook her head, “I want to go. For Lori, I have to.”

“Raincheck?” Madison asked Daryl, stepping to the front of the bike so she could see him while they talked for a minute. He only grunted in reply and Madison kept talking, “Don’t forget about that daycare. Check there first, okay?” She stared at him as his anxiety morphed to quiet agitation and he impatiently revved the bike’s engine in an attempt to hurry Maggie along. Chewing on her bottom lip, Madison debated about whether she should keep talking and bothering him, but his frazzled state of mind was worrying her. “Are you sure you’re up for this?” she whispered.

“Back off, Maddie. Don’t need no damn babysitter.”

With an irritated glare, she folded her arms and continued, “It’s just that neither of you are in a very good place right now. You’re so worked up; I’m worried you won’t be thinking straight out there.”

“I’m fine, we’ll be fine,” he assured her, softening his tone, “Someone’s gotta go. Can’t let that baby girl die, not after...we lost too many people t’day, ain’t gonna lose nobody else.”

“Who else?” Madison quietly asked, upset with herself for being so consumed with her own problems that she didn’t do a headcount beyond making sure Daryl was alive. Her mouth fell open, “T? And-and Carol?” Daryl clenched his jaw and gave a sharp nod without looking at her. No matter the strain Carol had been on their relationship, Madison never wanted her dead and the pain in Daryl’s eyes at the loss of his friend brought her to tears. Blinking rapidly and swallowing the lump forming in her throat, Madison reached for his hand; she knew the man next to her well enough to know that he didn’t want her to make a big deal out of Carol’s death and how he was handling it, so she quickly pressed her lips to his cheek and simply said, “Be safe out there, okay? Come back to me in one piece.”

“I will, Buster,” he promised, finally meeting her concerned gaze as Maggie joined them and slid onto the bike behind him. Once she was settled, Daryl sped off and Madison watched them race down the road until she couldn’t seem them anymore then turned and trudged back to the prison to check on Carl and the baby.

No one spoke much as Madison, Beth, Hershel, Carl, and the baby sat in the common room outside their cellblock. Glenn busied himself by trying to track down Rick and talk him down off the ledge and digging the graves for the three people that died that afternoon. As the hours went by, the silence became too much for Carl and he wandered into the cellblock to be alone. After he'd been gone for a while Madison stood and went looking for him, sighing when she saw him huddled halfway up the staircase to the upper row of cells. “You gonna ask me how I'm doing?” Carl's small, angry voice carried through the cell block as she climbed the stairs.

“No, I know better than to ask that right now,” she answered, taking a seat next to him, “I just wanted to find out where you went. Listen, I'm not going to force you to talk, but I'm here.”

Carl didn't say anything for several minutes and Madison picked at the dried blood under her nails, debating if she should leave or not. She was about to stand and give Carl his space when he spoke up, “I hate that baby. She's the reason my mom’s dead; I hope she dies.”

“Carl! You're pissed off, I get it, but you can't say something like that!”

“Why not? It's true!” Carl countered, the rage in his eyes catching Madison off guard.

“You don’t mean that-”

Frustration took over and Carl raised his voice at Madison, “How do you know? You don’t know what I’m feeling!”

“Maybe not, but I know how you’ll feel if she does die after you’ve said something terrible like that! She’s your family,” she tried to explain, taking a deep breath and collecting herself; she understood that Carl was hurting, but she couldn’t allow him to go on hating his baby sister, “Your mom gave her life so your sister could live; it was your mom’s choice, it wasn’t the baby’s fault. I know you can’t picture it right now, but one day the pain and the anger will disappear and you’re going to be left with a lifelong best friend. She’s going to look up to you, follow you around like a lost puppy, and rely on you to teach her things your dad can’t; and oh man, is that little girl going to love her big brother?” Carl’s expression softened and Madison put her arm around his shoulder and hastily continued before he could interrupt, “Nothing can explain the relationship between siblings; there’s going to be times when you’ll hate each other, like now, more than you ever thought it was possible to hate another human being. But even at those moments, you know you’ll do anything for each other...it’s kind of incredible. You don’t want to miss out on that.”

Carl pondered her words for a moment and tried to see the logic behind her argument. “You really miss your sister, huh?” he finally concluded.

“Yeah I do,” Madison nodded, clearing her throat and forcing her emotions in check, “Every day.”

Several more silent minutes passed between the two of them before Carl finally turned to Madison, “Can we-would it be okay if we go check on her?”

“Better than okay,” she whispered with a smile. They walked into the common room together and Carl timidly stood in front of Beth and took the baby from her. Madison leaned against the wall and sunk to the ground as she watched Carl hold his sister; the sun had set at least an hour ago and she worried that Daryl and Maggie had run into trouble. Leaning her head back against the cool concrete she closed her eyes and tried to tell herself that they were all right. The door leading from the courtyard swung open and Madison jumped to her feet, exhaling deeply as Daryl and Maggie burst into the room.

Daryl glanced at Madison as he rushed to the baby, taking her from Carl’s arms, “How’s she doin’?”

“She hasn’t stopped crying since you left. It’s a good thing you’re back; I don't know how much longer she could've held out,” Madison answered, her mouth falling open as she watched Daryl cradle the infant in his arms.

Daryl snapped impatiently at Beth as she ran to him with the formula. He took the bottle from her and placed the nipple in the baby’s open mouth, silencing her as she eagerly fed. A small chuckle escaped his lips and he turned to Madison with a triumphant smile.

Madison drank the moment in, committing it to memory. An awestruck smile spread across her face; not only had she never expected to see Daryl with a baby in his arms, she never would have guessed he’d be such a natural. She allowed herself a private moment to indulge the fantasy that it was their baby in his arms, but she quickly pushed the thought from her mind knowing that that would never happen. Words failed her as she watched him feeding the tiny bundle in his arms and she felt herself falling in love with him all over again. “I thought you said you didn’t know anything about babies?” she finally asked, walking over to him and draping her arm over his shoulder. She put her finger into the baby’s hand and beamed as the teeny fist gripped her finger.

“I don’t,” he insisted, his eyes flashing to hers before he looked back to the baby.

“That’s sure not what it looks like to me, Daryl,” she whispered, kissing his shoulder.

A lopsided grin tugged at the corner of his lips as Madison interacted with the baby. He glanced up and suddenly was aware that every eye in the room was on him. He uncomfortably shifted his weight from leg to leg as he asked, “She got a name yet?”

“Not yet,” Carl answered, “but I was thinking maybe Sophia.” Daryl’s face fell at the mention of Sophia and Madison gently rubbed his shoulder, knowing how much he still blamed himself for her death. “Then there’s Carol, too. And...Andrea. Amy. Jacqui. Patricia. Ally.” Madison couldn’t help but inhale sharply, surprised to hear her sister’s name included on the list. Daryl turned his head towards her and, seeing the pain in her eyes, kissed the top of her head. “Or...Lori. I don’t know.”

Daryl turned his attention back to the baby and a soft smile returned to his face, although it was so faint no one other than Madison would’ve noticed it. “Yeah, ya like that? Huh? Lil’ Asskicker?” He laughed to himself and looked at Madison, “Right? That’s a good name, right?”

“Yeah. I’m not sure that Rick will like it; you get to be the one to tell him,” she teased, laughing along with everyone else.

“Fine by me,” Daryl murmured, looking at the baby again, “Lil’ Asskicker. Ya like that, huh? Ya like that, sweetheart?”

Hesitant to ruin the moment, but eager to voice his concerns, Glenn cleared his throat and stepped forward, “Hey, Daryl. We, uh, we’ve gotta talk about Rick.”

“‘lright,” Daryl nodded then turned and passed the baby to Madison, “Ya got ‘er?”

“Yeah,” Madison whispered as she gently took Rick’s daughter from Daryl. “Oh, I know, darling. I know. You were comfy and the mean man made you move, huh?” she cooed to the fussing baby, smirking as she took a good-natured jab at Daryl and laughing as he grunted and followed Glenn away from the others. She took a seat on the stairs and rocked the baby to sleep. Several minutes passed and Madison tuned the rest of the group out as she got lost in the tiny miracle in her arms, only tearing her eyes away when she felt someone take a seat to her right. “Everything okay?” she quietly asked Daryl as he settled in beside her.

“Will be with time, I hope,” he answered, distracted as he watched the small group in the room with them, “Ain’t many of us left.”

Madison watched Daryl as the pain and stress of the day took over his face; she adjusted her hold on the baby and took his large, calloused hand in hers, “What about you? How are you holding up?” Daryl responded with a small shrug, but wouldn’t meet her concerned gaze. “I know you’re not that big on talking about feelings, but it’s not good to keep it all bottled in. Whatever you’re going through, I’m here for you, okay? I won’t make you talk if you don’t want to, but please don’t shut me out.” She took a brief pause as she debated whether or not she should say what else was on her mind. After a deep breath she added, “I’m sorry about Carol. I really am. I know how much she meant to you.”

A sad half-smile covered his lips acknowledging her sympathy as he brushed the hair off the right side of her face, “This place ain’t safe like we thought an’ I ain’t goin’ through losin’ ya again like after the farm. We needa figure out a place t’meet up s’we’re t’gether if e’erythin’ goes t’hell.”

“That’s a really good idea, I hadn’t even thought of that. Are you thinking somewhere in here?”

“Nah, should be outside the fences,” he said immediately, “If shit’s hittin’ the fan inside we can’t stick ‘round waitin’.”

“Good point. Just this week we’ve seen about a million ways things can go wrong in here.” Madison chewed her lip as she brainstormed possible meeting places beyond the prison. “How about that break in the trees along the railroad where you showed me the prison? It’s outside the fences, but close enough we won’t lose sight of the others. It’ll be easy to remember and find again...what do you think?” she asked, looking at Daryl expectantly.

He nibbled on the tip of his free thumb as he mulled her suggestion over before nodding, “That’ll work.”

“Good, now we’ve got that settled. Not that we’ll need it. I still feel good about this place, even after everything.” Before he could counter her last statement, Madison turned her attention back to the sleeping infant in her arms. She released Daryl’s hand and softly brushed her finger along the baby’s cheek then held her tiny hand. A peaceful smile spread across her face as she muttered, “Look at her, Daryl. She’s so beautiful. I wish Lori could’ve seen her. It doesn’t seem fair; she sacrificed so much for this little girl, even before today…”

“She ain’t the only one,” Daryl whispered, his deep, husky voice lower than normal as he spoke quietly so he wouldn’t disturb the baby. Almost timidly, he softly ran his fingertips along the scar above Madison’s right eye as he remembered how sick she’d made herself all for the sake of Lori and her baby. Now that the anger he felt at the time was a distant memory, he was amazed by her selflessness and he loved her all the more for that scar and what it represented. “Lil’ Asskicker’s here ‘cause of ya.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Madison mumbled, shaking her head and pulling her hair forward again to cover the scar. The scar served as a constant reminder of how much her stupidity nearly cost her over the winter; she hated it and she hated how intently Daryl was focusing on it at the moment, assuming he saw the same thing she did when he looked at it.

With a mildly irritated huff, he brushed her hair back again and looked deeply into her golden-brown eyes as they pleaded with him to drop the subject. “Gotta learn t’give yerself some credit, Buster,” he told her as he tenderly kissed her scar. Confusion and relief filled her eyes when he leaned back and let her hair fall forward again. It pained him to see how fragile she seemed to believe their relationship was, as though acknowledging anything to do with their break up would somehow cause irreparable damage. He remembered the tears in her eyes at the helicopter crash site when he told her that she made his world better; he hated how shocked she was when he told her how he felt about her, it was as though she either didn’t believe him or expected him to change his mind at any moment. A lopsided grin pulled at his mouth as he came up with something that would help her understand what she meant to him. “Gotta go take care of somethin’,” he told her as he jumped to his feet and quickly left the common area, disappearing into the cellblock.

“Oh, okay,” Madison said to his back as he left the room, startled by his abrupt departure. She shrugged and returned her eyes to the sleeping child and started softly humming a lullaby. Slowly the rest of the group filtered out of the common room, leaving just Madison and Hershel.

“Indulge an old man and let me have a turn holdin’ her,” Hershel asked, cutting through the silence.

Glancing in his direction, Madison pretended to ponder his request, “I don’t know, what’s in it for me?”

“You can go to sleep and put this hellish day behind you. You look like you’re about to fall over,” he replied, his voice filled with fatherly concern.

Madison sighed, “I’m afraid to fall asleep. I’m afraid to not have something keeping my mind occupied. I have no room to complain, I’m not the one that-Maggie wouldn’t let me...how is Maggie doing, anyway? I feel awful; I haven’t even talked to her since she got back.”

Hershel studied Madison’s guilt-ridden face for a moment before responding, “I think the run was good for her, gave her somethin’ to think about besides what she had to do. She’s tough, tougher than most, she’ll be all right.” Madison exhaled deeply, grateful to hear that her friend was doing well considering the events of the day. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Madison,” Hershel continued, “You have just as much right as she does to be upset right now. You went through somethin’ traumatic today; it’s all right to not keep it together all the time.”

A humorless chuckle escaped Madison’s lips, “Just talk to Daryl, he’ll tell you I never keep it together. Especially lately.”

“A lot’s been goin’ on lately, but you’ve managed to keep it together when it counts, when others have been relyin’ on you. Daryl’s your rock, that’s why you let your emotions out when he’s there; and believe me, that boy doesn’t mind one bit.”

Tears began to sting her eyes and she rapidly blinked them back. Gesturing to her face she said, “Case in point. Is this what you call keeping it together?” Hershel gave her a sympathetic smile and nodded. Before Hershel’s gentle understanding made her come completely undone, Madison stood up and carried the baby over to him. “Now the real question is where is she going to sleep?”

“For now, right here,” he replied, beaming at the newborn as he took her from Madison.

“You can’t stay up with her all night.”

Hershel laughed, “You’re forgettin’ I raised two girls; I’m very good at sleepin’ with a baby in my arms.”

“All right, if you say so,” she chuckled as she turned to leave. She paused and faced him again. “Thank you,” she murmured, squeezing his hand and returning his understanding smile before leaving for her cell.

Hushed conversations coming from inside the cells told Madison that no one would be sleeping well tonight. The weight of all that happened in one afternoon hit her as she wearily climbed the stairs to the upper row of cells. Halfway up the stairs she stopped short when she saw Daryl’s few belongings missing from his claimed spot at the top of the stairs. Irrational panic washed over her as she remembered how he pulled away from the group after Sophia was found and she feared he’d done the same thing in light of Carol’s death. “Did anyone see where Daryl went?” she called out to anyone who would answer.

“Nope, haven’t seen ‘im. Think ‘e skipped town,” he answered from her cell.

Her hand flew to her heart as she exhaled deeply, grateful that he hadn’t done something stupid and run off by himself. “Don’t joke like that! You’re a known flight risk,” she teased as she climbed the last half of the stairs.

“Shut up. Where’s Asskicker?” he asked, poking his head out of her cell as she reached the landing.

“With Hershel, why?”

Daryl disappeared into the cell again as he answered, “I’s jus’ hopin’ Rick was back from ‘is trip t’crazy town.”

“Not yet,” Madison said as she entered her cell and her mouth fell open. “Daryl, what are you doing? You said you didn’t want to sleep in a cage...if this is because Axel and Oscar are still here, it’s not like they’ll sneak in here and attack us-you don’t have to move your stuff in here…” she rambled, unable to process what she was seeing.

Smirking over his shoulder at her confused reaction, Daryl threw his crossbow on the top bunk, “Ain’t gonna let a cage keep me away from m’girl no more.” He stepped away from the bunk and put his hands on Madison’s hips, pulling her closer. “I love ya, Maddie, but y’don’t get how much; I know I ain’t good at tellin’ ya, but this should show ya. We don’t know how long we got an’ I ain’t gonna waste ‘nother minute of it bein’ a dumbass.”

“I love you too,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him. “So we’re...living together now?” she asked, partly as a joke, but also to make sure she fully understood what was going on.

Daryl rolled his eyes at her. “Why d’ya women gotta label e’eryhin’?” his clear blue eyes sparkled as he teased her, “Yeah. Guess we are.”

A large smile overtook Madison’s face. “This is kind of big, isn’t it? But not really, I guess...I mean you were only what? Three feet away before so-”

Daryl silenced her by putting his finger to her lips, “Buster, stop talkin’.” She giggled as he gave her a stern look and removed his finger. “Why ya got a blanket hangin’ up?” he asked, gesturing to a blanket Madison had strung up as a makeshift curtain and pulled aside earlier that morning.

“For privacy when I’m getting dressed mostly. If it’s bothering you, if it’s making the cell to confining or something, I can take it down,” she offered as she turned around and reached up to pull it down.

Catching her hand before she reached the blanket, Daryl leaned in and whispered in Madison’s ear, “Nah, leave it.”

“You sure?” she asked as she faced him again. Her heart raced when she saw the fire burning in his eyes and the wicked smile on his lips.

“Hell yeah,” he muttered against her skin, smirking as he felt her shiver next to him. He crashed his lips against Madison’s, knocking her slightly off balance by the unexpected force behind the kiss. Daryl’s strong hands steadied her and then he began inching her backwards so he could pull the heavy door closed and let the blanket fall across the bars. Breaking the kiss, he looked down at her flushed cheeks as she tried to catch her breath and a self-satisfied grin spread across his face, “Privacy sounds good right now.”


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where has the time gone? Between the beginning of the holiday season, getting sick, and life in general time got away from me. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me and continues to read my story. The support means the world to me. Same as always, I only own Madison.

An unexpected thrill shot through Daryl as he woke up to his striking redhead sleeping peacefully in his arms; moving into her cell was definitely the right call and in this moment he had a hard time remembering why not sleeping in a cage had been more important than being with the woman he loved. “Mornin’ beautiful,” he murmured in Madison’s ear, his voice hoarse from lack of use, as he tenderly moved her hair aside, leaving a trail of soft kisses along her neck and shoulder.

Smiling at her new alarm clock, she rolled over to face him and gave him an incredulous look. “Liar,” she chuckled as he narrowed his eyes and glared at her, “What do you want?”

“Whaddya mean what d’I want?”

She rolled her eyes, “First off, I’m sure I look like death warmed over. Second, you never call me beautiful, so what-“

“I think it,” Daryl whispered, absentmindedly drawing imaginary lines connecting the freckles on her arm with his fingertips.

Madison could feel her cheeks turning red and covered it up by playfully punching his arm, “Why are you trying to butter me up? What did you do?”

“Nothin’; I ain’t done shit,” he grumbled, rolling onto his back and staring at the bunk above him, “Learn t’take a damn compliment, Buster.”

With a sigh she laid her hands on his chest and rested her chin on her hands and studied his face, determining if he was giving her a hard time or genuinely upset. “You're absolutely right, I'm sorry. Thank you,” she whispered before a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, “That was a very nice thing to lie about.”

“Smartass,” Daryl laughed, raising his head off the pillow and kissing her softly. The early morning silence was shattered by the baby’s frustrated cries. Daryl groaned as he reluctantly moved Madison off him so he could sit up, “Sounds like Asskicker’s up an’ she wants e’erybody t’know it. C’mon.”

“I almost forgot about her,” Madison admitted as she pulled a fresh shirt over her head. Daryl stopped tying his shoes and threw a withering, judgmental glare at her; to him her admitting to forgetting about the baby was like admitting she had forgotten about everyone who died the previous day. “Calm down, I said almost,” she defended herself as she tied her hair back in a messy bun, “Not forgot, that’s not the word. It’s more like…I don’t know; I guess everything that happened yesterday just doesn’t seem real yet, you know? Like it was all some kind of twisted nightmare.”

Placated by her explanation he relaxed and nodded, grunting as he leaned over and picked his shirt up off the floor. Madison stifled a laugh as she watched him give it a quick sniff and then shrug as he decided it still had a little life left to it and rose to his feet. Before he could slip into his shirt, she moved behind him and wound her arms around his waist wanting to postpone their return to the reality waiting for them outside their cell for as long as possible. Daryl tensed at the unexpected contact with his bare back and looked at her apprehensively, hating himself for taking his time getting dressed. “Relax, weirdo-it’s just me,” she sighed, pressing her lips to the demon tattoo on his right shoulder blade and smiling to herself as she felt the stress leave his body at her kiss. “How did you get these?” Madison asked, her voice barely above a whisper as months of curiosity finally got the better of her and she grazed one of the many scars populating his back with her fingertips.

“Don’t matter, was a long time ago,” he grumbled, momentarily frozen as he tried to cope with the flood of emotions taking over; embarrassment from appearing weak to the woman behind him, pain from confronting the demons from his childhood he fought to keep buried, and frustration from having someone, even Madison, poking around in matters that were none of their business.

“It matters, Daryl; you matter-”

“Ain’t none yer concern; drop it,” Daryl curtly replied, pulling away from her and throwing his shirt on, hiding his scars from view.

The tension between them was palpable and Madison immediately regretted saying anything. Daryl purposefully avoided looking at her as he pulled on his vest, adding another layer between his back and her prying eyes, and snatched his crossbow off the top bunk, becoming obsessively focused on inspecting his bolts. Even though she couldn’t catch his eyes, Madison could tell by the way he was pressing his lips together in a thin line that she crossed a line and he was struggling to control his temper. “Look at me. Daryl, please,” she begged, pausing until he begrudgingly made eye contact; the anguish she saw clouding his eyes was far worse than the rage she had prepared herself for and she tripped over her words trying to explain herself, “I-I know I shouldn’t have brought it up, I know that; I don’t know what I was thinking. But I saw them the night you were shot and I’ve been curious ever since...I have my theories, I just hope I’m wrong. It’s nothing to be ashamed of-”

“Jus’ shut the hell up, Madison,” Daryl growled as he shouldered his bow, anger rapidly replacing the pain in his eyes and turning them cold and gray, “I said drop it; don’t ask me ‘bout it again!”

Madison defiantly met his threatening gaze, the hypocrisy of his refusal to answer her one question gnawing at her. “There’s no reason to bite my head off, it’s a simple question!” she snarled, letting unjustified anger mask the guilt she felt for poking around Daryl’s past, “I don’t believe you; all the times back on the farm, and even a few times since, that you pushed me to talk about my past I did and now you throw a fit because I have the audacity to expect the same? So-what? I have to talk and you get to keep your mouth shut? Is that how this relationship works?”

“I never pushed ya; I asked an’ ya talked! An’ when ya wanted t’stop I let ya!” Daryl barked as his eyes bore into hers.

Madison opened her mouth to counter his argument, but snapped it shut as his words registered and she realized he was right. Unsure if she was more frustrated with Daryl for not opening up to her or with herself for expecting anything different and trying once again to knock down a wall she knew wouldn’t budge; she stared past him into the corner of the cell with a set jaw and folded arms. As she tried to muster up the strength to swallow her pride and apologize her face softened and she started chewing on the inside of her cheek as her eyes darted to his; with a heavy sigh she turned to him, “Daryl, look. I’m-“

“Save it,” he tersely cut her off as he dismissively waved her away and stormed out of the cell; grumbling to himself as he ran down the stairs and out of the cellblock. He knew Madison well enough to know when she was about to apologize and he knew that he’d forgive her as soon as she did and that would rob him of the anger which was all that was fueling him and keeping him moving forward at the moment; he needed that rage right now to cope with everything, with everyone, he’d lost in the past twenty-four hours.

“Good job, Wyatt,” Madison muttered to the empty cell as she listened to Daryl’s footsteps fade, wincing as the heavy metal doors slammed closed behind him. Shaking her head at herself, she marveled at how quickly their perfect morning had disintegrated because of her lack of self-control. Her shoulders slumped as her eyes fell on his poncho hanging off edge of the top bunk; this wasn’t how their first morning sharing a cell was supposed to go.

Muffled voices filled the cellblock and Madison took a deep breath and made her way downstairs to the common room; certain everyone saw or at least heard Daryl storm out of the building she wasn’t looking forward to explaining why. She hadn’t even taken three steps into the room before Glenn noticed her and bombarded her with questions, “What’s going on with Daryl? Do you know where he’s going? When he’ll be back?”

Madison was irritated by his questions until she looked at him more closely and saw the sincere concern in his eyes. While Rick was off dealing with his grief somewhere in the prison, it was an unspoken agreement that Daryl was the group’s temporary leader and if he started to crack that responsibility would fall to Glenn and he looked terrified by the prospect. “I wish I knew. It’s nothing to worry about, Glenn,” she answered softly, “We just had a bad morning, that’s all.”

“I wouldn’t think that was possible after last night, with him movin’ into your cell and...everythin’,” Maggie teased, a knowing smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

“It’s possible when you’re as big of an idiot as I am,” Madison replied with a humorless chuckle, ignoring the burning in her cheeks; she knew Daryl giving Maggie and Glenn a hard time yesterday would come back to bite them, although she had to admit she was grateful Maggie was doing well enough to tease her. “Who wants breakfast?” she asked quickly before anything else could be said on the subject. “I think I saw some oatmeal in the stash...T brought back the other day,” she finished with a sigh; it didn’t seem possible that they lost a third of their group in one afternoon. An awkward, mournful silence filled the room at the mention of T’s name and Madison busied herself preparing breakfast so she had something to think about beside everything that was wrong with the world this morning.

By the time she found the oatmeal and got it cooking, Daryl barged in from the courtyard and made a beeline for the cellblock, obviously still extremely upset by the way he stormed through the room, ignoring everyone in sight. Madison groaned as she scooped some oatmeal into bowls and took it over to the group sitting around a small round table. “Madison, what did you do?” Beth asked quietly, her eyes wide; Daryl hadn’t been this upset in a long time and it was unnerving the young girl as she tried to soothe the baby who was fussing after Daryl’s loud entrance.

“Something incredibly stupid, I already told you,” Madison snapped, immediately regretting her harsh tone. She sighed and placed her hand on Beth’s shoulder, “I’m sorry Beth; if I can’t even talk to him about it I certainly can’t get into it with anyone else.” Beth nodded and turned her attention back to the newborn in her arms. Letting out a long, deep breath Madison returned to the pot of oatmeal; not only had she managed to piss Daryl off, but now she’d upset Beth as well. She was on a roll this morning.

Blocking out what was going on around her as she tried to figure out how to make things right, Madison ran her hand over her face and then filled a bowl of oatmeal for herself. “What’s that sludge supposed t’be?” Daryl’s deep voice came out of nowhere.

Daryl’s sudden appearance caught Madison off guard, making her jump and drop her bowl. The metal bowl hit the ground with a thunderous clang and she felt her face turn red as every set of eyes in the room immediately turned to her. A suppressed chuckle came from behind her and she apprehensively turned towards Daryl, surprised and relieved to see him fighting back a smile. She was grateful to see he wasn't wearing his vest anymore; even though she knew he took it off because, despite the early hour, it was already hot, to her it was as if he'd taken off his armor and was ready to call a truce. “Breakfast,” she timidly answered his question as she bent down and cleaned up the mess on the floor.

“Very graceful, Buster,” he mumbled as he knelt down to pick up the bowl for her. His eyes darted from Madison to the bowl in his hands, suddenly uneasy; he had always been better at starting arguments than ending them. After taking some time to think and cool off, he saw how unfair it was for him to take his frustrations with life out on her and he wanted to make amends; she’d crossed the line, but he’d overreacted and he could see that now. He risked another brief glance at her face, the uncertainty in her eyes cutting like a knife, then asked in a low, almost apologetic tone, “Got any left?”

Silence overtook the room as the others did their best not to gawk at the scene playing out in front of them as Madison nodded and spooned some oatmeal into a bowl and handed it to him. He took the food with a mumbled thank you, but before he could walk away, Madison gently, tentatively, placed her hand on his forearm and whispered, “Daryl, can we talk?”

The surge of rage that filled Daryl at her harmless question surprised even him as her wording rubbed him the wrong way. Anger flashed across his face, “Talk? Weren’t ya listenin’ upstairs? I don’t wanna talk! Why can’t ya take a damn hint?”

Madison stared at him for a moment, stunned by the unexpected change in his mood; the shock wore off and she met his angry stare with a withering glare of her own. “Just so you know I was going to apologize,” she spat, “I know; the nerve, right? How dare I?” She knew she was in the wrong and she was more than willing to own up to it, but she was fed up with his refusal to let go of her mistake so she could fix things; she thought he was past being angry for the sake of being angry, apparently she was wrong. After a tense stare down, Daryl rolled his eyes at her and strode across the room and sat down with an aggravated grunt on the stairs leading outside while Madison huffed and took a seat on the stairs leading to the watch tower, trying to put as much distance between them as possible and ignoring the feeling of his eyes watching her every move.

The creaking of the heavy barred door that led deeper inside the prison pulled Madison’s attention away from her mental tirade against Daryl as Rick slowly walked into the room and joined the group. “Everybody okay?” he asked somewhat mechanically, like he was running on autopilot. Although he was obviously far from fine Madison was relieved to see him in one piece and in a clean shirt which she believed had to be a good sign.

“Yeah, we are,” Maggie answered for everyone, concern easily visible on her face. Madison noticed how the brunette’s body tensed when Rick entered the room and assumed she was worried about how he would act around her since she was the one to perform the C-section; she couldn’t blame Maggie for being nervous, that thought had plagued her own mind as well.

“What about you?” Hershel prodded when Rick didn’t say anything and stood in the middle of the room, staring blankly ahead.

Rick glanced at the older man and then looked to his son. “I cleared out the boiler block,” he stated, ignoring Hershel’s question.

“All by yourself?” Maggie gasped.

Daryl’s eyes narrowed as he studied their leader, trying to decide if he was stable or not, “How many were there?”

“I don’t know,” Rick sighed, “A dozen, two dozen.” Daryl dropped the hand holding his spoon and stared at Rick in disbelief; something seemed off about him, how could he not even know how many walkers he killed? Rick looked away and put his hand on his son’s shoulder, “I have to get back. Just wanted to check on Carl.”

“Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies,” Glenn offered, rising to his feet, “You don’t have to-”

“No, I do,” Rick cut him off and marched over to Daryl, “Everyone have a gun and a knife?”

“Yeah,” Daryl replied with a nod, “We’re runnin’ low on ammo, though.”

It took everything Madison had not to say anything out loud, but she couldn’t keep from muttering to herself as she watched the exchange between the two men, “Sure, you can be civil to Officer Whack Job.” As irritated as she was by the calm way Daryl was speaking to Rick, she couldn’t disregard how far Daryl had come; it wasn’t that long ago that he would have taken his frustrations out on the whole group when he was upset with her. She hated to admit it, especially right now, but she was proud of him.

“Maggie and me were planning on making a run this afternoon,” Glenn told Daryl and by extension Rick, “Found a phone book with some places we can hit, look for bullets and formula.”

Daryl acknowledged Glenn’s plan with a slight nod and continued to fill Rick in on what had been happening while he’d been gone, “We cleared out the generator room. Axel’s there tryin’ t’fix it in case of emergency. We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well.”

It was clear Rick wasn’t paying close attention to what he was being told; he turned and started walking out of the room, “Good. Good.”

“Rick, where are you going? Don’t you think you should stay here for a bit?” Madison asked, standing up so he could see her glancing at Carl, hoping Rick would catch the hint that his son needed him more than whatever he was up to in the boiler room.

Rick’s eyes darted to her, but he didn’t respond and kept walking, shutting the door behind him as he left. “Rick!” Hershel called after him in vain.

The room fell silent once again as everyone’s mind turned to Rick and what could be done to help him. As awful as it was, Madison couldn’t force herself to focus on Rick, her mind kept wandering back to what Glenn said about he and Maggie going on a run and she desperately wanted to join them; she needed a chance to get away from the prison and all the terrible things that had happened in the past twenty-four hours and she wanted an opportunity to check in with Maggie and make sure she was doing all right. Truth be told, she also wanted to get away from her fight with Daryl, believing space would do them both good. Unable to hold back any longer, she quietly spoke, “I’ll go with you guys on the run.”

“The hell ya will,” Daryl said quickly, almost in a panic.

“It’s really not up to you,” Madison shot back then turning towards Maggie and Glenn she continued more calmly, “If you need an extra set of hands, that is.”

Maggie smiled at her, understanding her need to get out of the prison, “That’d be great. Thanks.”

“When do we leave?”

“That’s it,” Daryl grumbled, tossing his empty bowl onto the step and jumping to his feet, “Ya wanna talk? Let's talk, c’mon.”

Madison shot him a scathing glare, “There’s nothing to talk about; I’m going. End of discussion.”

Shaking his head, Daryl held open the door leading to the courtyard and watched her with narrowed eyes. “Ain’t askin’ again. Ya think I won’t come over there an’ carry yer stubborn ass outta here?” he threatened when she didn’t move. Madison planted herself where she stood and folded her arms, daring him to do something about it. “Have it yer way,” he sighed as he bounded down the steps and started making his way towards her.

“Fine,” she groaned in frustration, giving in and crossing the room then climbing the stairs to head outside. She rolled her eyes at Daryl as she passed him, his smug, victorious expression plucking her last nerve. They’d already given the group a show with their constant bickering all morning, she’d be damned if she was going to let them watch Daryl throw her over his shoulder and haul her outside. Without waiting for him, Madison stormed out the door and into the courtyard, only stopping when she reached a small set of bleachers a fair distance from the cellblock, she had a feeling this “talk” was going to get loud and she didn’t want the others to overhear. When she heard him come to a stop behind her, she spun around and barked, “So now you want to talk?” Daryl’s gaze never faltered as he clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to get a grip on his temper before he said something else he would only end up regretting like everything he’d said to Madison so far today. “Well?” she challenged, throwing her hands up when he didn’t respond, “I don’t have time for this; I’ve got to get ready to go.”

“Maddie, wait,” Daryl said gruffly, catching her arm and stopping her from leaving.

“What, Daryl?”

“Dammit woman, I don’t know what more ya want from me!” he exploded, letting go of her arm and pacing like a caged animal, “One day yer sayin’ the past don’t matter an’ the next yer obsessin’ over what my life was like b’fore e’erythin’ went t’hell. I ain’t like ya, okay? I ain’t no open book! I don’t wanna talk ‘bout the hard stuff. Y’wanna know what my life was like b’fore all this went down? It was shit! Talkin’ don’t help me, I jus’ wanna ferget ‘bout b’fore!” Madison stared at Daryl, slack jawed, as he explained why he didn’t want to discuss his past with her, erasing the frustration she’d felt towards him all day. Numbly, she sank to the bleachers behind her, overwhelmed as the guilt she felt earlier when he stormed out of their cell returned with a vengeance. She couldn’t bear to look at him and her eyes fell to the ground and she mumbled an apology as she fought back the tears stinging her eyes, that last thing she wanted to do was cry and seem like she was trying to manipulate the situation with her tears. “Y’don’t know e’erythin’ ‘bout me, but ya know a hell of a lot more than anybody else ever has,” Daryl paused to take a breath and noticed the change in her demeanor; with a sigh he took a seat next to her, cupped her face, and tilted her head back to make her meet his gaze. “Ain’t that enough?” he asked in a low, gravelly whisper.

“It’s more than enough,” Madison blurted, gently lowering his hand from her cheek and clinging to it, “I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place. It was selfish of me to ask about something so personal that you clearly didn’t want to talk about just to satisfy my own curiosity. I feel awful; you’ve given so much to make me happy and I just…” Her sentence trailed off into silence as she cleared the lump forming in her throat and hung her head, “I’m so sorry.”

Forgiving her immediately like he knew he would, Daryl squeezed her hand, “Me too.”

“This is a real low point for me.”

“Whaddya mean?”

“You’re being the rational, mature one right now, I don’t think I like it,” she teased, trying to lighten the mood although she was afraid it was too soon to start cracking jokes.

Daryl chuckled in spite of himself, “I dunno, feels kinda good.” A lopsided grin pulled at the corner of his mouth when Madison laughed quietly with him. The smile faded as he studied her face closely, she’d been through so much in such a short amount of time; she looked completely worn out and he wondered if she was in the right frame of mind to be leaving the relative safety of the prison. “Ya sure goin’ on the run’s a good idea?” he asked softly, tucking some of the stray hair that had fallen out of her bun behind her ear.

“You didn’t bat an eye when Maggie wanted to go yesterday,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, I know. But it’s m’job t’worry ‘bout ya, not ‘er; she’s got Glenn fer that.”

“Good answer,” Madison replied with a small smile. “I need to go. I need to not be here for a while. Is that okay?”

“Don’t gotta ask me fer permission. I get it,” he sighed and his eyes scanned the yard, landing on the three fresh graves in the distance, “This place’s haunted now.”

Madison nodded, following his gaze, “Exactly.” She looked at him and saw the pain in his eyes as he continued to stare at the graves and wished there was something she could do to help him through Carol’s death. “Is that where you went earlier?” she asked quietly, her eyes returning to the graves as well. He responded with a barely visible nod and Madison cautiously continued, “Will you be all right while I’m gone?”

“Don’t worry ‘bout me, Buster,” he answered with an unconvincing smile, “We’re gonna be clearing the lower levels like I told Rick. Ain’t even gonna notice yer gone.”

“Shut up you jerk,” she chuckled, nudging him. The smirk on his face did little to cover up the sadness in his eyes. She wanted to be more respectful of his boundaries, but she also needed him to know she understood what he was going through. Hesitantly she opened her mouth and took a deep breath before adding, “If you ever need or want to talk about what happened to Carol, I’m right here.” Daryl rolled his eyes at her and shook his head with a good natured, exasperated expression. “Don't give me that look; I said if you want to,” Madison defended herself, “I won’t say another word about it unless you bring it up.”

“‘lright,” he said in a husky whisper, gently running his thumb along her bottom lip then cupping her face, “But don't ya go holdin’ yer breath.” Madison covered his strong hand with her own and leaned in to the warmth on her cheek, the fire blazing in his intense blue eyes making her regret her decision to leave; staying behind and making up with Daryl sounded far more enjoyable than going on the run. A soft, contented sigh slipped out of Madison’s lips and Daryl brought his face closer to hers; taking the sound as a signal they were back to where they were earlier that morning, he tenderly covered her lips with his.

Maggie slipped outside, unnoticed by the couple on the bleachers; focusing more on closing the heavy door behind her than what was going on in the courtyard, she called, “Hey Madison, Glenn was just sayin’...oh! Sorry you two.” Startled by Maggie’s presence, Daryl and Madison jumped apart. Daryl turned and glared at Maggie and Madison did her best to suppress a giggle at his death glare. “Not interruptin’ anythin’, am I?” Maggie laughed as her initial embarrassment of intruding on their private moment dissipated and she approached the pair.

“Ya got eyes, what the hell do ya think?” Daryl asked gruffly, even though Madison could tell by the way he picked at the frayed edge of the hole in the knee of his pants that he was uncomfortable.

“Be nice,” Madison ordered in a soft whisper, placing one more quick kiss on his lips, “I told you yesterday this would happen.” She couldn’t make out what Daryl grumbled in response and shook her head at him then turned to Maggie, “You’re fine. What about Glenn?”

Trying, and failing, to hide an amused smile, Maggie answered, “We decided we wanna get goin’ sooner rather than later; we’re just about ready to go if you’re still comin’.”

“Ok, I’ll be right there.”

“Don’t take too long,” Maggie called over her shoulder with a wink as she rushed back inside to give Daryl and Madison a moment.

Daryl waited for the door to the cellblock to close before turning to the woman sitting next to him, “Stay alive, got it?” His eyes danced across Madison’s face, drinking her in; he’d never admit it to her because he knew it would most likely lead to another fight, but he didn’t want her to go on the run. If anything happened to her it would absolutely destroy him and in light of Carol’s death he wanted to keep Madison close where he could protect her.

An uneasiness gnawed at Madison’s stomach; she rarely went on runs without Daryl and now she remembered why. It was more than the simple fact that she enjoyed spending time with him without the others around, but this world was filled with uncertainty and any time you left there was a chance you wouldn’t come back, there was a chance you wouldn’t see those you left behind again. Logically she knew going on a run with two other people was relatively safe, same as she knew Daryl helping sweep the lower levels of the prison was a relatively safe task, but if the past week since they’d moved into the prison had taught her anything, it was that safety was far from a given. “Only if you promise to do the same.”

“Anythin’ ya say, Maddie,” Daryl whispered as he kissed her forehead then rose to his feet, offering her his hand to help her up. They walked silently hand in hand toward the staircase, both lost in their own unspoken anxieties.

“Ready Madison?” Glenn asked, descending the stairs two at a time with Maggie close behind him.

“Yep; I was born ready.”

Daryl stopped walked and narrowed his eyes at Madison, “Thought ya said ya had t’go get ready?”

“Yeah, about that,” Madison began, casting her eyes to the ground, “I’ve already got my gun and knife, that’s all I really need. I just said that because you were pissing me off and I needed an excuse to get away from you.” Once she finished her thought, she risked a glance at Daryl and gave him an apologetic smile as he grunted at her comment. Not wanting the last thing she said before leaving to be that she wanted to get away from him, she squeezed Daryl’s hand in way of a goodbye and mouthed, “I love you.”

A small, lopsided smile spread across his face as he returned her squeeze and silently whispered, “You too,” before making his way back inside the prison.

During Daryl and Madison’s goodbye, Glenn and Maggie already started moving towards the cars and Madison jogged to catch up with them, falling into step beside Maggie. “You two okay now?” Maggie asked, watching Madison from the corner of her eye.

“No, we broke up again. What do you think?”

“I think you guys are exhaustin’.”

Madison chuckled and shrugged, “Better than boring though, right?”

“Somethin’s seriously wrong with you,” Maggie said with a smile, shaking her head at her friend as they caught up with Glenn at Hershel’s old red and white SUV.

“What’s wrong with her?” Glenn asked, confused after only catching the last part of their conversation, “Do you need to stay here?”

Madison shook her head and climbed into the back seat of the car while Maggie laughed. “Nothin’ that’ll stop her from goin’ on the run,” she assured Glenn, kissing his cheek, “Don’t worry about it, just talkin’ about girl stuff.”

The color drained slightly from Glenn’s face. “Oh, come on Maggie-don’t tell me that,” he groaned as he walked around the car to the driver’s side, “When you need that stuff on a run, just grab it; I don’t need to know.” Maggie made eye contact with Madison, silently asking if she heard Glenn’s minor freak out, and both women burst into laughter.

Several hours and unsuccessful stops later, Glenn parked in front of a boarded up general store. Defeated by the day's string of failures, he asked, “What do you think? Is it worth trying or should we head back and figure out a new plan of attack for tomorrow?”

“We can’t go back without any formula for Little As-for the baby,” Madison insisted.

“Daryl’s rubbin’ off on you,” Maggie teased.

Madison glared at the brunette in the front seat, “Shush, you.” Turning her attention to the store, she continued, “Check it out; the door’s still chained shut. I think it’s worth a try and we’re here anyway, why waste the gas tomorrow?” Without waiting for the other two to agree, she threw open her door and hopped out of the SUV, pulling her gun out of her holster as she scanned the area. “See anything?” she asked Maggie once she joined her outside the car.

Maggie shook her head and her body relaxed. “Clear outside,” she called to Glenn, meeting him at the front of the car with a large smile.

“All right,” he said with a nod before turning around to get the bolt cutters from the back seat, “Let’s take a look.”

“Hey,” Maggie whispered, catching his arm and giving him a quick peck. Glenn smiled at her and pulled her to him, giving her a longer, deeper kiss.

Madison stopped short when she turned around and groaned, “Oh come on guys, really? Can't you save that for home?”

“It's a beautiful day,” Maggie whispered to Glenn, looking to the sky and smiling, ignoring Madison’s protests. Glenn returned her smile and turned to pull the bolt cutters from the car. As Glenn took the cutters to the chain on the store’s door, Maggie glanced at Madison as they stood next to the SUV watching Glenn, “And don’t ruin my fun just because you’d rather be back at the prison suckin’ face with Daryl, isn’t that what he called it?” Madison groaned and buried her face in her hands which only made Maggie laugh, “You’re the one that wanted to come, you got no one to blame but yourself.”

“Why does he talk?” Madison whined. A small flock of birds flew straight for them as Glenn opened the door, making all three duck and gasp. Madison’s hand flew to her chest as she tried to catch her breath and she chuckled at herself, feeling utterly ridiculous for getting scared by a few birds.

Once his nerves were steady again, Glenn clicked on his flashlight and cautiously entered the store. “Glenn, get that duck,” Maggie called to him from outside the store where she and Madison were still standing.

“What?”

“Get that duck,” she repeated herself, guiding Glenn with her flashlight.

He paused and looked back at her over his shoulder, “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Maggie answered, “A kid growin’ up in a prison could use some toys.” Glancing at Madison, she gestured towards the store with her head, “Let’s get in there so we can get outta here faster so we can get you home.”

Madison gave her friend an unamused look then shook her head, “Before we do...about yesterday...”

Maggie’s face fell and she looked down at her shoes, “What about it?”

“I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay,” Madison sighed, glancing at Glenn inside the store to make sure everything was still all right before turning her gaze back to Maggie, “I was too wrapped up in my own stuff last night I never checked in with you when you got back.”

“Well, I’m not gonna pretend it’s been the easiest twenty-four hours of my life,” she exhaled deeply, “But I’m hangin’ in there. Havin’ the baby helps; makes it worth somethin’, you know?”

“I know what you mean; if Rick’s this bad off after Lori dying, I hate to think what he’d be like if he’d lost his wife and his baby in one afternoon.”

Folding her arms, Maggie took a moment to consider her next comment. “Is it terrible that I’m more worried about Carl than Rick?” Madison shook her head. “At least Rick is feelin’...somethin’, dealin’ with the grief in some way by doin’ whatever the hell it is he’s doin’ down in the boiler room. Carl’s just bottlin’ it up inside. It’s not healthy.”

“No kid should have to do what he did.”

Glenn came out of the store with a basket full of supplies in each hand. “That’s okay ladies, you keep talking. I got it,” he said sarcastically as he joined Madison and Maggie next to the car.

“Sorry, Glenn. My bad,” Madison apologized.

Setting down one of the baskets, he waved away her apology, “It doesn’t matter. We just hit the powdered formula jackpot.”

“Oh, thank God,” Maggie gasped, looking at Glenn’s haul.

Glenn beamed at the two women in front of him, obviously very pleased with himself, “I also got beans, batteries, cocktail wieners, many mustards.”

“Many mustards?” Madison echoed, raising an eyebrow at him.

“What? Maybe you don’t mind flavorless food, but I miss mustard, okay? Sue me.” Madison laughed at Glenn’s explanation and held her hands up in mock surrender. He smiled and continued as he loaded the basket in his hands into the back seat, “It’s a straight shot back to the prison from here. Probably make it back in time for dinner.”

“You hear that Madison?” Maggie teased, ignoring the redhead’s annoyed glare as she bent down and picked up the second basket Glenn brought out with him. “I like the quiet. Back there, back home, you can always hear them outside the fence no matter where you are.”

“An’ where is it y’all good people’re callin’ home?”

Madison jumped at the strange man’s voice and her blood ran cold as she heard the click as he cocked his gun. Spinning around and drawing her own gun, she, Maggie, and Glenn inched their way to the back of the car, weapons at the ready. This man had clearly had it rough, he was wearing a filthy tank and had another shirt draped over his arm. He was covered in dirt and blood from what seemed to be a broken nose; he appeared to be missing his right hand and was wearing a metal prosthetic with a long blade attached to the end. He was absolutely terrifying, but what unnerved Madison the most was that there was something familiar about him, about his eyes, that she couldn’t quite pin down.

“Merle?” Glenn asked, disbelief written all over his face.

The man in front of them startled laughing in amazement, laying his gun on the ground and holding his hands up, “Wow!”

Madison’s head was spinning, this deranged looking man in front of her couldn’t possibly be Daryl’s brother; she looked to her right, trying unsuccessfully to catch Glenn’s eye, and asked quietly, “Wait? Merle, Merle?” Without taking his eyes off the man in question, Glenn answered with a brief nod. It was too much for Madison to handle and she lowered her gun slightly, partly from the shock of the news and partly because she felt awkward holding Daryl’s brother at gunpoint. She grappled with herself as she searched for the appropriate response, torn between the obvious threat Merle presented and fact that this man had Daryl’s eyes.

“Hold on now; how ya know my name, sweetheart? I know ya weren’t with us back in Atlanta, ‘cause I sure as hell woulda remembered ya,” Merle’s eyes slowly traveled up and down Madison’s body as he spoke, making her feel extremely uncomfortable and she tightened her grip on her gun. “Ya know my brother? ‘e alive?” Madison couldn’t formulate a response and kept staring at Merle as he took a few small, slow steps closer to them.

“Hey! Back the hell up!” Maggie cried from Madison’s left, readjusting her aim.

“Okay, okay, honey,” Merle replied, ignoring her demand and inching even closer.

“You made it,” Glenn breathed, forcing himself to believe his eyes.

Merle stopped moving and met Glenn’s unwavering stare, “Can ya tell me, is my brother alive?” Glenn didn’t answer right away, unsure of the correct course of action and Merle turned to Madison again, “Huh?”

She nodded weakly, answering Merle’s question; seeing her response from the corner of his eye, Glenn sighed and answered vocally, “Yeah.”

Merle closed his eyes and smiled as relief washed over him. Eventually he opened his eyes and looked back at Glenn, “Hey, ya take me t’im an’ I’ll call it even on e’erythin’ that happened up there in Atlanta. No hard feelin’s. Huh?” Madison nervously eyed the blade attached to Merle’s right arm. Noticing her adjust her grip on her gun, Merle chuckled and held up his right arm and shook it, “Ya like that? Yeah. Well, I found myself a medical supply warehouse. Fixed it up m’self. Pretty cool, huh?”

Taking control of the conversation, Glenn brought Merle’s attention back to him. “We’ll tell Daryl you’re here and he’ll come out to meet you.”

“Hold on. Just hold up,” Merle begged, frantic as he watched the chance to see his little brother again slipping away and started to move forward again.

“Whoa. Whoa,” Glenn said as he held up a hand and tried to keep Merle where he was.

“Hold up here. Hold up. Hey, the fact that we found each other is a miracle. C’mon now. Y’can trust me,” Merle insisted.

Madison’s flickered between Merle and Glenn, getting more nervous the more worked up Merle became. “You trust us,” Glenn told Merle, “You stay here.”

Merle’s eyes turned cold and he let out a small, angry chuckle as he glared at Glenn. “No!” he shouted, throwing the shirt draped over his arm at them and pulling out a second gun he’d kept hidden at his hip.

Madison dropped to the ground behind the SUV when she saw he had another gun and shielded herself the best she could when she heard the gun go off and hit the back window, showering her with broken glass. When the glass stopped falling she opened her eyes and looked under the car towards the passenger side, jumping to her feet when she saw Merle’s shoes appear behind Maggie’s. Racing to help her, time stood still as Madison rounded the corner and saw Merle holding his gun to Maggie’s head. She heard Maggie scream, “Madison, don’t!” and time sped up again as she ripped her eyes from Maggie’s terrified face and noticed Merle’s metal prosthetic swinging towards her face, making contact before she could react. Blinding pain momentarily consumed Madison before she sank to the ground, unconscious.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. With the holidays and everything time just sort of got away from me. On top of that this is the longest chapter I've written, hope you guys don't mind, and one of the hardest. I've never written anything like this before and I wanted to do it right. I hope you enjoy the update. Thank you again for all of your support and continued readership (That's a word, right? Well it is now), I can't tell you how much it means to me. I know I say that on every update, but that's only because it's true. I can't believe my little story has over 2,100 hits, I never thought I'd reach 500; this is so exciting and I have you to thank! As always, I only own Madison, everything else belongs to the lucky people who own TWD.

Dazed, Madison’s eyes fluttered open long enough to realize she didn’t recognize the dimly lit room she was in. A man’s voice cut through the unnerving stillness surrounding her and for the first time she was aware that she wasn’t alone. She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed, trying to control the wave a nausea brought on by the dank, moldy smell in the room. She waited for her world to stop spinning before she risked opening her eyes again. A sudden tapping on her cheek accompanied the voice she couldn’t understand no matter how closely she concentrated, but as the fog began to clear from her mind she recognized the speech pattern. “Daryl?” she moaned as she tried, unsuccessfully, to sit up straighter, “How di-how did you find… Stop...stop smacking me, I’m awake.” Irritated, she tried to lift her hand to slap his hand away. Dread ripped through her and her eyes snapped open when she couldn’t move her hand and realized her hands were bound behind her to the back of the cold, metal chair.

“Oh, oh. Here she comes; c’mon princess. Get it t’gether.” Panic stricken, Madison tried in vain to break free as her wide eyes scanned the room and fell on Merle standing over her, an unsettling smirk on his face. “Guess y’weren’t lyin’ ‘bout knowin’ my brother,” Merle muttered as lightly smacked her cheek twice more before taking a seat across the small table Madison was seated next to. “Now yer done with yer lil’ siesta, we're gonna have us a chat.”

“Where are Glenn and Maggie?” Madison demanded, “What’d you do to them?”

“Ah, c’mon now; don't ya worry yer pretty little head ‘bout them. They're jus’ fine. Glenn, ‘e's jus’ next door an’, whadidya say ‘er name was? Maggie? She's jus’ ‘round the corner. Relax doll, I jus’ want some information from ya; I don't wanna hurt ya.”

Madison reeled in her fear and glared at Merle; if she was going to get out of this, she couldn't let him see she was afraid. “That’s funny coming from the man that gave me a concussion.”

“That’s different; y'all had yer guns on me.”

“I didn’t.”

Merle leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table as he narrowed his eyes and studied her closely, like she was a puzzle he couldn't quite figure out, “Yeah, ya lowered yers when ya heard my name. Why?”

“You’ve got a brain, I think, you figure it out,” Madison sneered, amazed by how steady her voice was, but no matter how steady her voice was she couldn't keep her hands from trembling.

An impressed smile covered Merle's mouth as he leaned back in his chair and laughed, “Oh man! Gotta hand it t’ya girl, y’got guts. I like that. So if ya tell me what I wanna know, I'll let ya go; all y'all. No harm, no foul.” Merle paused to gauge her reaction to his bogus deal, knowing he had no intention of letting them go; when she didn't seem to take the bait he lowered his voice, “But if ya hold out on me then we're gonna have ourselves a problem.”

“Then I guess we have a problem because I have nothing to say to you,” she spat. She didn't know Merle beyond their brief interaction at the store and what little Daryl had told her, but she didn't trust him. If all he wanted was to see his brother again he wouldn't have fired at them and captured them, there was more going on here and that meant the rest of the group was in danger. Even on the off chance that she was wrong and Merle's only motivation was seeing Daryl again, she still would fight tooth and nail to keep that from happening; Daryl had grown so much being out of his brother's shadow and she would do anything to keep Merle's toxic influence away from him.

“Don't be stupid, think this through. All ya gotta do’s tell me where my brother is an’ this'll all be over. C’mon, whaddya say?”

“No,” she stated flatly, watching Merle’s face closely as he tried to control his temper. Words were the only weapons she had at her disposal right now, but as she saw his jaw clench she wondered how much longer she could push her luck before words were no longer enough.

A scowl covered Merle’s face and Madison knew his patience was wearing thin with her, the situation was about to get very bad very quickly. “I know we didn’t get off on the right foot, but that’s no reason fer ya t’keep me from m’family. Ain’t right. How d’ya think Daryl’ll feel when ‘e finds out y’were keepin’ me from 'im?”

“He’ll understand,” Madison answered, praying her uncertainty didn’t reflect in her response. She hadn’t considered Daryl’s reaction to all this and the idea of him finding out made her sick; the last time she kept something from him he walked away, she couldn’t lose him again, not over his dirtbag brother. “This is bigger than you and your brother,” she said through clenched teeth, trying to convince herself as well as Merle that she was right, “It’ll be a cold day in hell before I tell you where our camp is. We’re his family now and he wants us safe.”

“Family, huh?” With a dark chuckle, Merle switched tactics and reached into his pocket and pulled something out. Eying him suspiciously, Madison’s entire body tensed when she saw her phone in his hands. Her subtle reaction didn't go unnoticed and Merle flashed a sickening grin, pleased with himself for finding a weak point. Scooting the phone across the table towards her, he calmly began speaking, “Found this when we checked ya fer weapons.” He glanced at Madison as he picked up her phone, “Hope ya don't mind, had a lil’ peek while y’were out. Must be nice, havin’ pictures t’remember yer family by.” Turning the screen towards himself, Merle casually began swiping from picture to picture, “Yeah, look at ‘em all smilin’ an’ laughin’; they got no idea the world’s ‘bout t’die an’ they all gonna die with it. Must be yer folks, they look like real nice people.”

Madison stared at the happy faces of her dead parents when he held the phone up to her. Struggling to hold herself together she whispered, “Yeah. Yeah they were.”

“Yeah,” he mumbled, his tone sounding sympathetic and catching her off guard. Without another word Merle looked at her phone again and continued scrolling. A low whistle broke the tense silence between the two, “Now this chick right here’s a real looker!” Madison's stomach dropped as Merle showed her a picture of she and Ally at the beach. Pointing to Ally, he asked, “She yer kid sister?” It took everything she had not to respond and he focused on the phone once again, “Damn! Them legs of ‘ers jus’ don't quit, do they?”

“Don't. Please don’t,” Madison begged; she couldn't make herself stay silent any longer, the expression on his face as he looked at her baby sister was making her skin crawl.

“She looks like a sweet kid, yer sister,” he glanced away from the screen and met Madison’s stare with a wink, “Course they ain't never as sweet as they seem, huh?” Casting his eyes back to Ally’s picture, Merle continued, enjoying finally getting under Madison's skin, “Mmhmm, yep. Ya jus’ know she knew how t’show a fella a good time.”

“Shut up!”

Merle smirked at her, “That suit sure don't leave much t’the ‘magination. I can tell ya this much, I'll be seein’ ‘er again later on t’night-”

Hearing this lowlife talk about Ally that way was too much for Madison and she snapped. “Stop it! Don't you dare talk about her like that!” she shouted, immediately hating herself for giving Merle the upper hand by letting him get to her. A rouge tear rolled down her cheek; not only had she failed to protect Ally when she was alive, she couldn't even protect her after death.

“‘lright, ‘lright. Calm yer tits, darlin’,” he laughed, dropping the phone to the table and holding his hand up, “I’s jus’ havin’ a lil’ fun with ya; don't hurt nobody t’look. Lil’ hypocritical ain’t it? Y’losin’ yer shit with me ‘cause I liked lookin’ at a picture of yer sister while y’ve done a hell of a lot more with m’brother than jus’ look.”

Merle's accusation knocked the wind out of her; her cheeks started burning and her eyes went wide, but she forced herself not to react beyond that. Madison set her jaw and stared at wall over his shoulder, doing her best to ignore his self-satisfied chuckle. “Nothin’ t’say ‘bout it, huh? Ain't gonna deny it or ask how I knew? Jus’ gonna sit there an’ give me the silent treatment?” Her eyes darted to his face and she saw the triumphant gleam in his eye; she was cracking and he could see it. The people she loved, her family and Daryl, were her Achilles heel and now that he's figured that out there was no stopping him. “Truth is I didn't know fer sure ‘til now. Yer silence speaks volumes, girl. Look, I don't give a shit that yer screwin’ ‘im. I jus’ wanna know where ‘e is; tell me an’ I'll cut ya loose an’ let ya get back t‘im. Hell, I'll drive ya myself.”

“No,” she said as forcefully as she could.

A frustrated laugh escaped Merle's mouth and he raised his metal arm and brought it down forcefully on top of her phone, shattering it beyond repair. “Wrong answer!”

Tears stung Madison's eyes as she stared at her mangled phone, at her final link to the way things used to be, and the reality sank in that she'd never see her family again. She closed her eyes for a moment to collect herself before she opened them again and defiantly stared back at her captor. “I don't care,” she replied. With her phone destroyed it meant he couldn't use her family against her and no matter what else was fueling Merle’s need to know where their camp was, she knew he would never hurt Daryl; all he had left was hurting her. As long as it meant the others would be safe she didn't care what happened to her. “Go ahead. Scream, break my stuff, hit me, kill me if you want; I really don't care. Daryl's better off without you and I'll die before I let you hurt him again!”

Madison knew what was coming by the hateful way Merle glared at her; she'd seen that look in a man’s eyes many times before. She took a deep breath as she braced herself for what was about to happen. Merle held her eyes for a moment longer as his fist clenched then collided with her face, knocking her head backwards. She didn’t have time to catch her breath before another blow met her cheek. She winced as Merle roughly grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him, “Y’ve known ‘im fer a few months an’ ya think ya know what’s best fer ‘im? Huh?

Swallowing the blood pooling in her mouth she shot back, “I don’t think I know what’s best for him. I know I do.”

“Ya don’t know shit!” Merle shouted, raising his fist once again and catching her square in the jaw. Madison inhaled deeply and waited for the familiar pain to dull before trying to move her jaw to see if it was broken. There were more important things for her to focus on at the moment, but the only thought running through her mind was how she always thought Charles knew how to land a punch, but his attacks paled in comparison to Merle’s; either that or her months with Daryl had made her forget just how painful a blow to the face could be. Frustrated by how well Madison was coping with the beating he was giving her, Merle suddenly became alarmingly quiet and put his face within inches of hers and whispered, “I've known Daryl ‘is whole life; I know ‘im better than anyone, make no mistake.” When Madison didn't respond or even so much as blink Merle threw one final punch, smirking to himself when it drew a startled cry from the woman in front of him. Without breaking eye contact, Merle slowly reached under the table and pulled out a revolver, chuckling darkly as the last of Madison's resolve crumbled and a small whimper escaped her lips as she futility tried one last time to break free from her restraints. “Now I dunno what kinda bullshit ‘e’s been feedin’ ya, but the Daryl I know sure as hell don't do relationships.” Madison froze as Merle jabbed the barrel of the gun against her forehead; she was terrified, but she would not give him the satisfaction of begging for her life and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. “Yer nothin’ t’im. Y’hear me? Don’t die fer somebody don’t give two shits ‘bout ya. I’m gonna ask ya one more time; where is ‘e?”

“Go to hell,” she managed to say, the conviction behind her words cancelling out the slight quiver in her voice.

The mechanic click as he cocked the revolver echoed through the room and terror washed over Madison as she came to terms with the fact that she was going to die in a matter of seconds and she started shaking uncontrollably. In a last ditch attempt to counteract the venom pouring from Merle’s mouth, she turned her thoughts to Daryl and how grateful she was that they'd made peace before she left. As if he could read her thoughts, Merle continued to attack her relationship with Daryl, determined to break her before pulling the trigger, “Don't care what ‘e’s told ya, ‘e don't love ya. Never did. Y’ain’t ‘is girlfriend’r whatever the hell ‘e said ya was.” The inevitable moment came. As Merle’s finger curled around the trigger, Madison squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the end. She heard the trigger click as it was pulled back and held her breath, waiting for a bullet that never came. She threw her head back and started crying as she realized the chamber was empty and she was still alive. Merle grabbed her face again and studied her through narrowed eyes. The fear in her face was unmistakable, but beyond that there was doubt in her eyes; his words were cutting deep and making her question her relationship with his brother. “I know m’brother,” Merle said in a gruff whisper, “Don't matter what ‘e’s told ya, yer jus’ the dumb bitch that’ll spread ‘er legs fer ‘im when ‘e needs t’blow off some steam. That's all yer ever gonna be. Think it over, ya know I'm right.” He roughly released her face and strode towards the door, tucking the revolver into his waistband. Pausing at the door, Merle turned around and faced Madison once more, “Ya know, if ya’d jus’ opened yer mouth an’ told me where my brother is ya coulda stopped what's gonna happen t’yer friends.” Merle stepped outside and pulled the door closed behind him, plunging the room into darkness.

Merle’s parting words hung in the air as Madison dissolved into tears, her physical and emotional pain mixing with guilt and overwhelming her. Keeping everyone back at the prison safe was an absolute must; she knew she’d done the right thing, but it was hard for her to remember that as she listened to the relentless beating Glenn was getting in the next room. “Glenn, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” she sobbed into the empty room, blaming herself and tormenting herself by trying to second guess the hell Maggie would be put through. Silence fell in the room next door and Madison didn't know if that meant Merle had just moved on to Maggie or if Glenn was dead or both. The deafening silence quickly became too much for her to handle and her mind began running wild, bombarding her with unanswerable questions, worse case scenarios, and replaying what Merle said about Daryl’s affections. One minute she was asking herself if either Glenn or Maggie had given up the prison’s location or if she should've caved to spare them from torture and then her mind would switch gears and imagine what was going to happen next; there was no way they would be allowed to leave. Would they be held prisoner? Executed? Alone in the pitch black interrogation room it was easy for Madison to imagine being forgotten and slowly starving to death and being left to turn. No one back home would know what happened to her, she would have simply vanished. How would Daryl handle her disappearing? How long before he realized something wasn't right and he came looking for her? Would he become hard and angry again or would he fall apart like Rick? Merle’s callous voice echoed in her ears telling her that Daryl never loved her and her head drooped; would he even miss her?

She shook her head as though that would clear the clutter from her mind. “Snap out of it,” she coached herself, “Sitting here stewing isn't going to solve anything.” She took several deep breathes as she regained control of her mind. Until she knew differently, Maggie and Glenn were alive and needed her help. They wouldn't be allowed to leave, but the three of them could fight their way out. She was still alive so imagining Daryl's reaction to her death was pointless. “Why are you even listening to what that prick said, anyway?” she asked herself out loud, distracting herself from the pain and grunting as she tried to wriggle free from her restraints, “Daryl’s not the same man he was a year ago-ouch! Crap, that's tight.” By the way her ties were sticking to her skin she decided it had to be duct tape holding her to the chair. She paused to gather the strength to continue when the tape started tearing into her skin as she struggled. In an attempt to focus on anything besides the sting of the tape ripping her wrists, she closed her eyes and remembered how tenderly Daryl kissed her scar the night before. That memory and others like it punctured holes in Merle's argument and she decided to trust Daryl rather than his brother, but it didn't stop Merle’s words from gnawing at the back of her mind.

The all too familiar growling of a walker combined with Merle yelling on the other side of the wall sent Madison into panic mode; that psycho was turning a walker loose on Glenn. All consideration for the pain vanished as she desperately tried to break free. She could feel blood trickle down her fingers as the tape cut deeper and rubbed her skin raw. None of that mattered; all that mattered was getting to a point where she could protect herself when that lunatic came back for her. Madison tuned out the battle in the other room and focused on pulling and twisting her arms in every possible way hoping the tape would give eventually.

The door swung open and flooded the small room with light, momentarily blinding Madison and she stopped struggling, squinting at the two figures approaching her. “’lright, let’s cut ‘er loose an’ put ‘er with the others,” Merle said to the young man with him, talking about Madison as though she was a piece of furniture.

“What’d you do to Glenn and Maggie? Are they alive?” Madison demanded.

Without so much as glancing in her direction, Merle turned to the other man and tossed a bandana at him, “This one ain’t gonna go without a fight, at least make sure she’s quiet.” He finally met Madison’s eyes as he spoke, “I’m sick of listenin’ t’ ‘er run ‘er damn mouth.” Merle moved behind her and stood resting the knife attached to his metal prosthetic on her shoulder, the tip pointed at her neck; he glanced down at her bloody arms and laughed. “Looks like someone tried t’check out early. Hell of a lotta good it did ya, huh?” When Madison opened her mouth to respond, Merle signaled the kid with the bandana and he gagged her before she could close her mouth again. “Oh man, I can't believe that worked! I like ya better this way princess. Yeah, nice an’ quiet.”

Madison tensed as Merle moved his knife until she remembered him saying something about cutting her loose. She waited, barely breathing, and listened for the sound of the knife slicing through the tape. The instant she felt the pressure on her wrist ease, she swung her arm around, clawing the young man that gagged her and leaving five long scratches down his arm. “Crazy bitch!” he yelled, drawing his gun and aiming at her chest.

“Put that damn thing away! She's gonna get what's comin’ t’ ‘er soon ‘nough,” Merle grunted as he reached around and caught Madison's arm as she took another swipe at the man in front of her; it wasn't much, but it was the only way she could defend herself. Pinning her arm down at her side, Merle sighed and glared at the kid while he inspected the scratches on his arm. “I told ya she wouldn't go down easy, right? No one t’blame fer those but yerself. Now, pull yer head outta yer ass an’ hold ‘er while I get the other arm then keep ‘er still. Think ya can handle that?”

The younger man mumbled a yes and grabbed Madison's arm, digging his nails into her skin as he held her. She sat still as Merle cut her other arm free; she was outnumbered and out of ideas; now it was time to bow to the inevitable. After her arms were free from the chair, the kid held them behind her back while Merle taped them together leaving her in no better position than before. Merle roughly grabbed her by the upper arm and yanked her to her feet and dragged her out the door and around the corner to where Glenn and Maggie were kneeling on the ground, holding each other's hands. Madison dug her feet into the ground as best she could; she saw the terror in Maggie's eyes and the despair in Glenn's and her blood ran cold. Merle was too strong for her and forced her to start moving again and placing her next to Maggie. “Get on yer knees,” he growled, shoving Madison to the ground. Turning to look at Glenn, he sneered, “Glad we could catch up.” Once she pushed herself up to a kneeling position someone came up behind her and pulled a hood over her head; with that Madison knew it was over. There was no way out, not chance to escape; they were about to be executed and she began crying quietly

“Just keep looking at me,” she heard Glenn whisper to Maggie.

“I love you,” Maggie responded through her own tears and Madison thought her heart would break in two. They were all going to be dead in a matter of minutes, but at least Maggie and Glenn had each other. Concern for Daryl's well-being after she was gone and the overwhelming desire to see him one last time filled Madison's mind as she was forced to her feet again. A man’s voice Madison didn't recognized ordered them to move and they were led forward.

An explosion ripped through the air and everything surrounding her descended into chaos as men yelled orders to each other and bullets started to fly. Madison and the other prisoners were forgotten as Merle and his men fought back against whoever set off the explosions. The smoke filling the room seeped into Madison's hood stinging her eyes and making them water; she crouched down and leaned forward as far as she was able and tried to shake the hood off so she could see and try to take advantage of the madness and escape. Before she could lose the hood, a large hand grabbed her and pulled her forward. “No! Let go of me!” she shrieked, kicking and twisting as she tried to break the grip on her arm; her one chance to get out of this place alive was slipping through her fingers and she wasn’t about to let it go without a fight. She was no match for whoever had hold of her and she was led away from the gunfire and smoke despite her best efforts.

The hand brought Madison to a stop and released her, but before she could run in the opposite direction the hood was whipped off her head. She blinked several times, trying to force her eyes to focus on her new surroundings. The first face her eyes fell on belonged to a woman she had never seen before; the woman had dark brown skin, dreadlocks, and her hand was hand was hovering over the handle of the long sword strapped to her back. Forgetting she was still gagged, Madison threw muffled, unintelligible questions at the stranger. “Quiet!” the woman hissed, pulling her eyes from Madison and facing forward.

Satisfied, at least for now, that she and this woman were on the same side and hiding from the same people, Madison relaxed slightly and followed the other woman’s gaze and gasped; Maggie and Glenn were standing in front of her. She glanced back to the woman next to her, who was this and why was she helping them? Still trying to make sense of how they got away from Merle and his people, Madison stared at the men standing on either side of Glenn and Maggie. The shorter of the two men looked over his shoulder and met Madison’s analytical stare. She staggered backwards in shock. Rick. And Oscar. How did they know where to find them? Her legs started to give out and a sturdy arm caught her before she collapsed. She whipped her head around, startled by the familiar way the arm wrapped around her waist. Tears sprung to her eyes and she let out a deep, shaky breath as her eyes landed on Daryl's face. He tried to control his expression, but couldn't hide the concern in his eyes as he took in the cuts and bruises covering her battered face. Rick signaled the group and they started moving again. “Stay close,” Daryl whispered, gently guiding her forward with the rest.

The group ran through the nearly deserted street undetected; the few stragglers that ran past them were too afraid to notice their surroundings. As they approached a seemingly empty building Rick, who had Glenn's arm draped over his shoulder, ordered everyone to get inside quickly. Daryl glanced at Madison before jogging ahead and kicking in the door, hastily sweeping the room for trouble. Everyone ran inside and the door closed behind them as the small group took a moment to catch its breath and decide on the next step. Madison stood by Oscar near the front window and stared at the street; there were working street lamps and well-manicured trees, no debris on the road or abandoned cars, this town looked completely unfazed by the end of the word. “Ain't no way out back here,” Daryl announced to the group as he dropped the gun in his hands and rushed over to Madison, cutting her hands free and removing the gag from her mouth.

The second she was free Madison spun around and threw herself into Daryl's arms, wrapping her arms around him tightly and crying against his neck, “I thought I'd never see you again!”

Daryl held her close, needing to feel her safely next to him for his own peace of mind. Remembering her injured face, he eased her back far enough so he could look at the damage. Placing a tentative hand beneath the left side of her chin he guided her face into the tiny sliver of light filtering in from the street. “Y’okay?” he asked in a gravelly whisper as he studied her face with a scowl. The light was too dim for him to truly see the extent of her injuries, but he could see they were concentrated on the right side of her face.

With a humorless chuckle Madison shrugged, “Won't lie, I've been better.”

“When I catch the bastard done this t’ya I'm gonna-”

“You won't do anything,” Madison said, taking hold of his wrist and looking at him with pleading in her eyes, “All this will heal, it's not worth you getting hurt over.” Daryl watched her for a moment longer and then pulled her into another tight embrace. Madison sighed, relieved he had dropped his quest for revenge so quickly; it shouldn't matter after finding out what kind of man his brother had become, but she didn't want Daryl unknowingly making threats against his family. Even the safety of having Daryl's strong arms holding her close couldn't put her mind at ease as the fact that he didn't know Merle was alive gnawed at her. Knowing that this information was going to hurt Daryl, but keeping it from him would be even worse, she took a deep breath and leaned back to meet his eyes, “Daryl, listen. You need...there's something you ought to know. The...uh, the man that-”

“Jus’ spit it out, Buster,” Daryl told her as he pushed her hair off her face, his mind running wild trying to second guess what she was struggling to tell him; whatever it was he knew it had to be bad or she would’ve just said it. Madison dropped her gaze and nodded with a sigh; the longer she fought to get the words out, the more nervous Daryl became as his mind ran through all the ways these men could have hurt her, ways he couldn’t see. “Maddie?”

“Okay,” she muttered, finally meeting his pale blue eyes again, “The man that brought us here, he’s-“

“Glenn, Madison; how bad are you hurt?” Rick asked, stopping Madison from telling Daryl about Merle. She groaned and shot Rick an irritated glare; this was hard enough without getting interrupted.

Glenn tried to sit up straighter as he answered Rick with a grunt, “I’ll be all right.”

Rick turned to Madison, eying her face carefully, and waited for her answer, clearly anxious to get moving again. “I’m fine,” Madison mumbled, letting go of Daryl to face Rick and wiping her face, unsure if she was wiping away tears or blood. “It’s nothing I’m not used to.” Madison’s statement caught Rick of guard and he paused for a moment before nodding to her and abruptly turning to check the window. Daryl ran his hand up and down her upper arm, the unfortunate truthfulness behind her statement making him ache for her.

“Where’s that woman?” Maggie’s question brought the group’s attention back to the here and now.

“She was right behind us,” Rick groaned, peeking outside looking for any sign of the woman who had told Madison to keep quiet.

Oscar broke his silence, “Maybe she was spotted.”

“Is now really the time or place to be trusting strangers?” Madison scoffed as she dug through the bag of weapons Oscar had been carrying, pulling out a pistol and checking to make sure it was loaded. “I mean it; who is she? What do we know about her?”

Unnerved by Madison's uncharacteristic cynicism, Daryl placed his hand on her shoulder, “She saw y’all get taken an’ helped us find ya when she didn't haveta. That's all I needa know right now.” Madison glanced up at him and nodded, letting him know she heard what he said; turning to Rick he asked, “Want me t’go look fer ‘er?”

“No. We gotta get them outta here,” Rick replied, gesturing towards Glenn and Maggie while his eyes flickered to Madison, “She's on her own.”

Feeling guilty for automatically assuming the worst of this unknown woman, Madison felt the need to make up for it by pleading the woman’s case, “But if she risked her life to save us we can't just-”

“She also abandoned us behind enemy lines,” Rick sternly cut her off. “We’re goin’.”

Knowing better than to argue with Rick, Madison sighed and turned back to the bag, distracting herself by quickly searching for extra ammo before they continued their escape. The tense silence filling the room was broken when Glenn spoke up, “Daryl, this was Merle. It was. He did this.” Daryl froze and stared at Glenn for a moment as he tried to process the information that had just been thrown at him; the realization of the terrible things his brother had done to the people he cared about robbed him of the opportunity to be relieved that Merle was still alive and he was at a loss as to the appropriate response to the news.

“You saw him?” Rick asked.

“Face to face.”

Madison chewed her lip as she watched Daryl struggling to make sense of what he'd just learned. It came as no surprise to her when he looked at her with pain and confusion in his eyes, mixed with the slightest hint of betrayal, and asked in a tight whisper, “Why didn't ya say somethin’?”

“I tried; that's what I was trying to say earlier. But it's not something you just blurt out,” she said, throwing a scathing glare at Glenn.

“Ya sure it was ‘im? Y’ain’t never seen ‘im b’fore…”

“It was him,” Glenn answered for Madison, “He threw a walker at me. He was gonna execute us.”

“S-so my brother’s this governor?” Daryl asked, his mind reeling, as he took a small step towards Glenn before looking back to Madison, begging for answers.

This was the first Madison had heard of any governor and she looked helplessly from person to person, hoping someone would give her the answers Daryl was begging for. “Governor? N-no. I don’t think that's Merle,” she finally responded, sounding far from confident in her answer.

“No, it’s somebody else,” Maggie interjected, pulling her eyes from Glenn long enough to glance at Daryl, “Your brother’s his lieutenant or somethin’.”

“Does ‘e know I’m still with ya?” Daryl asked, still trying to wrap his mind around the information getting thrown at him.

Maggie quickly nodded then turned her attention to Glenn, helping him pull on a zip up sweatshirt. “He does now,” Glenn replied before looking at their leader, “Rick, I'm sorry. We told him where the prison was. We couldn't hold out.”

Madison gasped quietly; she didn't blame them for giving up the prison, what she'd gone through must've been a walk in the park compared to what they survived, but the group left behind was weak and she was anxious to get back to them before these people got there. “We need to get out of here,” she muttered to no one in particular.

“Don't. No need to apologize,” Rick kindly assured Glenn before racing across the room and peeking out the window again.

“They're gonna be lookin’ for us,” Maggie pointed out, her voice shaking.

“We have to get back,” Rick agreed. He turned to Glenn, “Can you walk? We got a car a few miles out.”

“I’m good,” he grunted as Rick and Maggie helped him to his feet.

Madison looked at Daryl and softly touched his cheek, wishing she could take away the pain he was surely feeling. He looked at her and saw the sympathy in her eyes then abruptly stepped away from her and towards Rick; Daryl didn't care what Merle had done, he was his brother and he couldn't just walk away knowing he was this close to him, “Hey, if Merle's ‘round I need-I needa see ‘im.”

“Not now! We're in hostile territory,” Rick argued, staring at Daryl.

“‘e’s m’brother, ‘e ain't gonna try-”

“Look at what he did!” Rick snapped, gesturing to Glenn as he hobbled towards the door, “Look, we gotta-we gotta get outta here now.”

Daryl whipped his head back and forth between Rick and Madison, pleading with one of them to understand, “Maybe I can talk t’ ‘im. Maybe I can work somethin’ out.”

The pain in Daryl's eyes hurt Madison nearly as much as the blows to her face had; the urgent need to see his brother after nearly a year of believing he was dead and the desperation behind his expression almost made him look like a lost child. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and looked at Glenn; she knew Daryl had to find out the truth, but this wasn't how it should’ve happened. “He's not willing to talk, Daryl,” she quietly explained, tentatively reaching up and rubbing his back in a futile attempt to soothe him, “Not even to you. I'm so sorry, but Rick's right; we need to go.”

“I ain't leavin’ b’fore I see ‘im!”

Madison opened her mouth to try and talk some sense into the man standing next to her, but Rick beat her to the punch, “No. You're not thinkin’ straight. Look, no matter what they say, they're hurt.” Rick's eyes flickered to Madison, hoping to use her to get through to Daryl. Daryl followed Rick's gaze and his eyes narrowed as he studied Madison's injuries again. Feeling his eyes on her, she looked down to the floor. She knew Daryl was trying to work out what had happened and she didn't want to give him any clue that Merle was the one that did this to her; she'd tell him eventually, but now wasn't the time or place. When the concern for Madison in Daryl's eyes replaced the desperation to see his brother, Rick decided to keep pleading his case to Daryl in hopes of firmly securing his loyalty to their group, “Glenn can barely walk. How are we gonna make it out if we get overrun by walkers or this governor catches up to us? I need you! Are you with me?”

Madison held her breath as she waited for Daryl's answer. Eventually he nodded to Rick and muttered a quiet yeah although it was obvious his decision to stay with the group and leave his brother was killing him. “At least you know he's alive,” she whispered, taking his large hand in hers and squeezing it tightly, “You can stop wondering. You can stop blaming yourself for Atlanta.” Daryl shrugged, still struggling with the choice he’d made, as he silently clung to Madison's hand as though it was his lifeline. Unsure of what else to do and feeling like Rick had used her to manipulate Daryl into staying with the group, Madison continued talking, trying her best to say something that would help him feel better. “You know he’s not the same man you knew a year ago. Maybe it’s for the best that you didn’t see first-hand what he’s become.”  

A second more passed before Daryl released her hand and rubbed his chin, his piercing eyes searching for understanding in Madison's face, “Don’t matter; ‘e’s m’brother. What if it were Ally? Ya can’t tell me ya wouldn’t still wanna see ‘er no matter what she’d done.” His statement caught Madison off guard and she stared up at him, slack jawed, while her mind raced to formulate a response; she honestly didn’t know what to say, seeing a lesser version of Ally would tear her apart, but she didn’t know if could pass up an opportunity to see her alive again. Watching the internal debate playing out on Madison’s face Daryl exhaled softly and lightly touched her arm, “That’s what I thought.” He tore his eyes from Madison’s dumbfounded face and bent down and pulled two smoke grenades out of the bag by Oscar’s feet.

Rick watched closely from the door as Daryl pulled the pin from the first grenade in his hands, half expecting him to change his mind at the last minute. Daryl looked up and nodded to Rick, signaling that he was ready and it was time to move. Returning his nod, Rick looked to each person in the room as he gave them directions, “On three. Stay tight. One, two three.”

Rick pulled the door open and Daryl tossed the grenades into the street. The group stayed in the safety of their hideout for a moment as they waited for the smoke to fill the streets before venturing outside. Daryl threw the bag of weapons over his shoulder and gave Madison a sidelong glance as she anxiously checked her gun’s ammunition again, “Fer once don't go wanderin’ away from e’erybody. Keep close s’I can keep an eye on ya.” She responded with a slight nod, never taking her eyes off Rick as she waited for the signal.

Once he felt the smoke would give them adequate cover, Rick led them outside. Seconds later someone standing on the wall surrounding the town shouted, alerting others that Rick's group had been spotted and bullets immediately started flying. Madison took a deep breath to steady herself then opened fire, determined to do whatever it took to get her people to safety. The smoke was doing its job by making the group harder to see, but that also meant it was difficult for them to see where they were going. Madison relied on her ears to tell her where to shoot and which direction to run, honing in on Rick ordering them to take cover in a doorway across the street. She shot blindly into the smoke as she sprinted to the group's destination, silently grateful that she couldn't see if she'd killed anyone; she knew that chances were she had, but not knowing for sure made it easier for her to handle.

As the group huddled in the doorway Daryl pushed Madison in front of him, putting her deeper into the alcove and out of harm's way. “How many?” Rick shouted over the mayhem, trying to figure out what they were up against.

“I didn't see,” Oscar answered.

“Don't matter. There's gonna be more of ‘em. We needa move!” Daryl said, reloading his semiautomatic and taking stalk of what was left of their weapon supply.

“Any grenades left?” Rick asked.

“Uh-huh.”

Rick started to stand, preparing to run again, “Get ‘em ready. We gotta gun it to the wall.”

The gunfire intensified as the townspeople figured out where the group was lying low. “You guys go ‘head. I'm gonna lay down some cover fire,” Daryl announced when he realized that they had to switch up their game plan if they were going to get out of this alive.

“Are you crazy?” Madison cried, whipping her head around and staring at him; she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud, but his plan was suicide.

“No, we gotta stay together!” Maggie insisted.

“It's too hairy,” Daryl countered, glancing at Maggie then turning to look at Madison. He lightly brushed her cheek, hoping he could take away the fear in her wide eyes. “I'll be right behind ya,” he assured her quietly. Before she could protest, he pulled the pin to another smoke grenade and darted out of the doorway as he threw the grenade. “Ready?” The group followed and rushed out of hiding, firing their weapons as they pushed for the wall. Madison slowed down and tried to figure out where Daryl went; she didn't care how bad the situation was, she couldn't leave without him. “Keep movin’!” he yelled at her, appearing beside her out of nowhere. He shoved her towards Oscar, “Get ‘er outta here!”

Oscar grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward, “This way!” She gasped in pain as the pressure of his hand pushed the remaining shreds of duct tape deeper into her tattered wrist and he dropped her arm. A bullet flew past them and Madison took aim and fired back in the direction she thought the bullet came from. Realizing her stubbornness could get Oscar killed she started moving towards the wall again; she'd come back for Daryl after Oscar was at the wall with the others, she couldn't let him die because of her.

By some miracle they made it to the wall, along with Glenn and Maggie, unscathed. There wasn't time to bask in their good fortune as the smoke started to clear and the enemy’s gunfire began to concentrate around the bus they were standing next to. Madison ducked down and peered through the haze looking for Daryl. She glanced at Oscar and watched him climb onto the bus and pull Glenn up after him. Glenn was doing worse by the minute; soon either Maggie or Oscar would have to dedicate all their attention on helping him move leaving only one to fight back. She groaned; she couldn't leave them to fend for themselves. She’d just have to trust that Daryl would be all right on his own. Maggie and Madison continued firing, covering Oscar the best they could as he helped Glenn. An agonized scream rose above the cacophony surrounding them and Madison whipped her head around just in time to see Oscar’s limp body fall off the bus. She stared at the blood pouring out of the bullet hole in his side; with a wound that severe she knew nothing could be done for him. He was dead before he hit the ground. Maggie rushed to his side and shouted for Rick in a panic as she pointed her gun at the dead man’s head and pulled the trigger so he wouldn't turn.

“Maggie! Come on!” Glenn called from the roof of the bus. Maggie looked behind her at Glenn and then to Madison, her eyes wide with fear.

“Go! I'll cover you,” Madison said over her shoulder, shooting at unseen targets. Maggie nodded and scaled the bus and Madison followed, inching towards their escape route as she continued shooting. Rick appeared through the smoke alone and the color drained from her face, “Where's Daryl?”

“Come on, we gotta get you three outta here,” Rick said, pulling Madison by the arm towards the bus. “Daryl!” he shouted as he forced Madison onto the bus, ignoring her protests and attempts to break free.

“Go!” Daryl's voice floated through the air from somewhere in the middle of the street and Madison exhaled, grateful to at least know he was still alive. She tried to climb down the bus to get to him, but Rick caught her and dragged her to the other side of the wall and out of immediate danger. They took off running through the shadows following Rick to what Madison assumed was a predetermined meeting place behind an abandoned jeep next to an empty train car. Maggie and Glenn struggled to keep up with Rick and Madison fell back and draped Glenn's other arm over her shoulder and helped them hobble along behind their leader. Once they finally stopped running Madison let go of Glenn and eased him to the ground as she scanned the surrounding area; not only did they have the living trying to kill them, now that they were outside the wall they had walkers to deal with. An uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach the longer they went without any sign of Daryl, something wasn't right. He should be here by now. With a quick glance at the others Madison stood and turned back the way they came, she couldn't do this; waiting around for Daryl and doing nothing to help him was too much for her.

“Get down!” Rick ordered through clenched teeth, pulling her back down and gesturing to the searchlights from the wall sweeping the area.

“We can't just sit here and do nothing!” Madison insisted in a harsh whisper, “We need to go back. I-I need to go-”

“He knows to meet us here. He'll be here any minute, I promise,” Rick cut her off, eyeing her suspiciously. Madison was a loose cannon; he knew she'd stop at nothing to get back to Daryl and her frazzled state of mind after everything that had happened in the past several hours made her even more dangerous. “Just sit tight.”

“Fine,” she muttered, ignoring the anxious way he mumbled ‘come on, Daryl,’ under his breath and glancing at Maggie and Glenn, “You two doing okay?”

Glenn nodded. Leaves rustled behind them, immediately drawing everyone's attention. Madison's heart pounded in anticipation, waiting to see Daryl emerge through the darkness, and then fell to the floor when the woman with the sword crawled out from under the nearby train car. Rick immediately drew his gun and sprang to his feet closing the distance between himself and the woman in a few large steps. “Where the hell were you?” Rick demanded, cocking his gun. The woman struggled to her feet and stared at Rick, startled by his reaction. Maggie and Glenn pulled their guns on her as well and inched forward, surrounding her. Madison stood between Rick and Maggie, but didn't draw her gun. In the back of her mind she couldn't help but think of what happened the last time she lowered her gun when Glenn and Maggie kept theirs raised; but the woman standing in front of them was covered in blood and understandably terrified, Madison didn't have the heart to make the situation worse for her and still felt indebted to her for risking her life to save three strangers. “Put your hands up. Turn around. Turn around!” Rick ordered and the woman did as she was told, locking eyes with Madison as Rick took her sword from its sheath. Slowly the newcomer turned back to face Rick, leaning against the boxcar for support. Madison saw the look in Rick’s eyes as he tilted his head and stared daggers at this woman and she hesitantly put her hand on his, lowering his gun. Rick shot Madison a scathing glare and turned back to the woman, “Get what you came for?”

“Where are the rest of your people,” she asked, ignoring Rick's accusatory question.

“They got Oscar,” Glenn answered, jaw clenched.

Maggie stole a quick glance at Madison before speaking; they needed answers, but the answers had the potential to destroy her friend, “Daryl’s missin’. You didn't see him?”

The woman met Maggie’s gaze and shook her head. A quiet gasp escaped Madison's lips as her hands flew to her mouth and she squeezed her eyes shut; something had definitely happened to him, this was her worst nightmare come to life.

Rick took a threatening step closer to the woman, “If anythin’ happens to him-”

“I brought you here to save them,” the woman cut Rick off, her eyes flickering to Glenn, Maggie, and Madison.

“Thanks for the help,” Rick sneered, his eyes still burning with rage.

The woman could see the loathing in Rick's face and knew she was still in danger so she tried to reach Rick through logic, hoping it would spare her life, “You’ll need help to get them back to the prison or to go back in there for Daryl. Either way, you need me.”

“She's right Rick,” Madison whispered, afraid of saying the wrong thing and making the unstable man next to her do something rash, “Maybe you don't need her, but I do!” Pulling her eyes from Rick she looked at the frightened woman in front of them, “What's your name?”

A tense moment passed as the woman stared at Madison skeptically, trying to work out why this stranger cared about her name at a time like this. Deciding she wasn't in a position to ask questions or stay silent she sighed and reluctantly muttered, “Michonne.”

Madison gave her a small smile. “I'd be dead if it weren't for you. All three of us would be,” she added, looking at Maggie and Glenn who lowered their weapons as they were reminded of the debt they owed Michonne. “I don't know you and you certainly don't owe me anything, but please, I can't leave Daryl in there with those people. I know what they're capable of… Will you go back in there with me and help me get him out?” Desperation took over and Madison's voice cracked, “Please. You've done so much and I know it's not right to ask you for anything else, but I can't get him by myself. Will you help me?” Michonne nodded, grateful to Madison for diffusing the situation and standing up for her.

“No. Absolutely not.”

Madison spun around and stared at Rick in disbelief, hoping she had misheard him. “What?” she growled, taking a step towards him, “This is Daryl we're talking about! The man who's been your right hand since Shane attacked you. The man who, just minutes ago, walked away from his family because you needed him. She's our best chance of getting him out; are you really that petty that you'll refuse her help and let him die because you feel like she, what? Betrayed you? What's wrong wi-”

“She's hurt,” Rick snapped, cutting off Madison's tirade, “And so are you, even though you don't wanna admit it. Two injured people tryin’ to take on this whole place? You'd be dead before you made it over the wall.” Tears began to sting Madison's eyes and she looked away from Rick as she tried to blink them back, setting her hands on her hips, frustrated by feeling so helpless. Rick put his hand on her shoulder and waited for her to look at him again before continuing, “Of course we're not leavin’ Daryl behind; you and I will go get him.” Madison let out a shaky breath and gave Rick a grateful nod. He returned her nod before turning back to Michonne and giving her an icy glare and handing her back her sword, “Take Glenn and Maggie back to the car; try not to disappear on them this time. Think you can manage that?” Michonne stared at Rick and nodded slowly, gently taking her sword from his outstretched hand and putting it back in its sheath.

“I'm comin’ with you,” Maggie blurted.

Glenn froze and then grabbed her hand, trying to get her to look at him, “Maggie, no. Not after what that-”

“They need the manpower,” she said, tersely interrupting him and looking at Madison, “And this is Daryl we're talkin’ about.” A small, grateful smile covered Madison's lips as she silently whispered ‘thank you’ to Maggie.

Rick mulled Maggie's offer over for a moment before nodding and agreeing to let her come, much to Glenn's dismay. “If we're not back by tomorrow mornin’ at the latest, get back to the prison and get everyone the hell outta there before this governor pays us a visit.” With a sigh, Glenn agreed and kissed Maggie goodbye before disappearing into the shadows with Michonne. Rick looked at the two women standing next to him, concerned that they'd be too unstable to handle going back in, especially Madison. “You ready?” he asked and both Madison and Maggie nodded. Satisfied, Rick nodded them forward and led them back the way they came and through the weak point in the wall Michonne showed him earlier.

The streets that were teeming with armed men trying to kill them mere minutes before were now empty. Unnerved by the lack of people, Madison whispered as she tailed Rick and Maggie along the shadowed edges of the road, “Where is everyone?”

“I don’t know,” Rick answered, glancing back to make sure both women were close behind him, “Somethin’ doesn’t feel right.”

Shouting from the center of the town shattered the unsettling stillness surrounding them. Maggie and Madison came to a stop when Rick held up his hand, taking time to analyze where the cries were coming from. Eventually he lowered his hand and motioned them forward again, leading them towards the shouting. “Can you make out what they’re sayin’?” Maggie asked, her eyes darting up and down the street, expecting the townspeople to swarm the street at any moment.

Madison came to an abrupt stop and inhaled sharply as the color drained from her face when she made sense of the yelling. “Kill him,” she said in a strangled whisper, certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that Daryl had been captured and these people were demanding his execution.

Maggie heard the overwhelming fear in Madison’s voice and turned towards her, seeing the panic in her eyes. “We don’t know that for sure,” Maggie insisted, trying her best to calm her friend, knowing exactly what was running through her mind. She gently took Madison’s hand and tried to pull her forward to get her moving again, “We don’t know they mean Daryl, could be anyone.”

“Who else?” Madison muttered, breaking free from Maggie and sprinting ahead with no thought of her own safety.

“Shit. Madison, get back here!” Rick called after her as loudly as he dared as she rushed past him. He lunged forward and caught her around the waist and pulled her back into the shadows. “Now’s not the time to go runnin’ off without a plan! We need to keep a level head. You’re scared, I get that, but we gotta be smart about this or we’re all dead,” Rick warned, “Now can you keep it together or do I need to send you back with Glenn?”

Madison shook her head, “No. I’m good.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

Rick studied her for a moment. “All right,” he mumbled, releasing her with a nod. Maggie moved next to Madison and put her hand on her shoulder as Rick gave them their orders. “We’re gonna follow these voices and see what’s goin’ on. Wait for my signal before doin’ anythin’,” he paused and gave Madison a stern look, “You hear me? No matter what’s happenin’ when we get there you wait for my signal.” Madison met his stare and nodded, willing to agree to anything Rick said if it meant they could start moving again.

They followed the chanting to an arena in the middle of the town and took cover behind a dumpster. Madison peeked over the dumpster and saw Daryl on the ground, surrounded by walkers on snare poles, and Merle bent over him with his one hand clasped around his younger brother’s throat. The spectacle in front of her made Madison sick to her stomach; for all the lines Merle had crossed, she thought for sure hurting Daryl was the one line he wouldn’t cross. Clearly she was wrong. Rick rested his hand on her shoulder, steadying her, and handed her the gun she hadn’t noticed she dropped. She took it and Rick pointed to the large lighting rigs set up in the arena, indicating that he needed her to kill the lights. With a nod, she turned back to the brawling brothers, stunned to see them now fighting off the walkers back to back. From the corner of her eye Madison saw Rick’s signal and started shooting at the lights while Maggie shot at the walkers and above the crowd to frighten the spectators and make them scatter. Rick threw their last smoke grenade into the crowd then opened fire with the others. Madison held her breath and searched the smoke, looking for any sign of Daryl and praying that one of their stray bullets hadn’t hit him. As she peered through the haze, she saw a tall man in a long coat and a bandage around his eye calmly walk through the chaos surrounding him; he seemed completely unaffected by it, if anything he seemed to be revealing it. A chill ran through her as she decided this had to be the Governor Daryl mentioned earlier; this man was the sadistic monster that had ordered their execution and pitted Daryl and Merle against each other in a gladiator style fight to the death. Rage filled her and she aimed her gun at his head, believing that the world would be better off if he weren’t a part of it.

A hand on her arm and a familiar voice broke her concentration before she could pull the trigger. “Maddie, c’mon. Let’s go!” Daryl shouted, pulling her away from the dumpster and pushing her in front of him as they raced towards the wall, “Go!”

“They’re all at the arena, this way!” Merle called out, directing the group towards the weakest point in the wall.

“You’re not goin’ anywhere with us!” Rick yelled, glaring at Merle.

“Ya really wanna do this now?”

Madison skidded to a stop and turned to Daryl, “What’s he doing here? I just watched him try to strangle you!”

“Now ain’t the time,” Daryl grumbled, leading her between two buses supporting the wall while Merle pried open a weak spot in the wall itself. Daryl and Rick stood in front of Maggie and Madison, weapons trained forward in case they were spotted. Daryl did his best to ignore Rick’s skeptical glare and groaned, “C’mon, man.” Merle broke through the wall and Daryl guided Madison through the wall, turning back when he noticed Rick wasn’t following them, “Rick, c’mon. We’ve gotta go.” Rick nodded and motioned for Maggie to follow the others.

As Madison stepped through the hole in the wall, she was greeted by the sight of Merle kneeling on the ground and bashing in a walker’s skull with his metal arm. Glancing over his shoulder he saw several more walkers heading towards him, drawn in by the gunfire, and barked at Madison, “A lil’ help would be nice!” Begrudgingly Madison raised her gun and shot a walker closing in on him and was soon joined by the others. “We ain’t got time fer this,” Merle declared, darting off the main street and towards a row of houses.

Daryl immediately moved to follow his brother, grabbing Madison’s hand and pulling her forward, “Let’s go!”

They group ran until they felt they were a safe distance from the town, ducking into the woods as the first pale rays of sun lit the sky in hopes of staying hidden in case the Governor sent his men after them. Rick took the lead and Daryl and Madison fell to the back of the group. Now that they finally had a moment to themselves, Daryl put his arm around Madison as they followed Rick. “Ya doin’ okay?” he asked in a low whisper, his eyes flickering ahead to make sure Merle couldn’t see them.

Madison glanced up and locked eyes with the man beside her. “I’ll be fine. What about you?” she asked, reaching up and wiping away some blood on his right cheek before adding bitterly, “It’s not every day that a man gets choked by his own brother.”

“Weren’t like that; it was fer show.”

“If you say so,” she sighed.

They walked in silence for a few feet before Daryl spoke again, “What the hell happened? How’d y’all end up there?”

Madison sighed and shook her head; this was one conversation she wasn’t eager to have, “Your brother. He found us at the store when we were looking for formula and shot at us. I don’t know how we got from there to here, he knocked me out. I woke up in an interrogation room duct taped to a chair.”

Daryl didn’t respond, only stared forward as he tried to process yet another hurtful piece of information about what Merle had become and figure out how he still felt loyalty to a man who attacked his friends and knocked Madison, the most important person in his life, unconscious. Finally, he looked at her; surprised to find no trace of anger or blame in her expression, only concern. Concern for him. Even after everything his family had done to her, this strong, amazing woman was worried about him and how he was taking the news. Touched by this, Daryl stopped walking and gently pressed his lips to hers, grateful beyond measure that they got to her in time and they were together again. He glanced down at her hand resting on his chest and saw the shreds of tape stuck in the dried blood and torn flesh on her arm. “C'mere; gimme yer hands,” he murmured, taking her hands in his and examining her injuries closer, “Shit. Didn’t see they were this bad las’ night; Whaddya do t’yerself?”

Madison shrugged as she watched Daryl pick at the remaining tape on her right arm. “I tried to get out,” she said simply, wincing and biting her lip as he worked, “It didn’t go so well.”

“Say somethin’ if it hurts t’bad.” She nodded and inhaled through her teeth; Daryl glanced up at the sound. Now that the sun was rising he could see her battered face more clearly than he could in the dark room the night before; her bottom lip was split open with a trail of dried blood running down her chin and her jaw was bruised and slightly swollen. He swallowed as his eyes traveled from her jaw to the bruising around her right eye that went as far down as her cheek bone. Seeing her like this, knowing what she must’ve gone through was too much for Daryl and he looked back to her wrist and cleared his throat before he trusted himself to speak again, “Ya look like shit.”

“Wow. That, um, that was honest,” Madison said with a confused, humorless chuckle.

“Thought ya said ya didn't want me t’lie t’ya?” he replied with a smirk, glancing at her with a gleam in his eye.

A small laugh escaped Madison’s lips and she shook her head at him, loving how his blue eyes sparkled as he teased her; she knew what he was doing, trying to distract her as he pulled the tape off, and she was grateful to him for it. “Well, yeah. But I didn't mean for you to go out of your way to insult me either, you jerk.”

Daryl shrugged, “Shoulda said so, I ain’t no mind reader.” His eyes flashed to her face and he smiled at her, “Yer still the prettiest girl I know.”

“Oh man, that’s gotta suck for you.”

“Shut up,” he mumbled as he pulled the last piece of tape from her right arm and picked up her left. “Looks like the tape was jus’ on yer bracelet on this arm, but that cuff cut ya up real good,” Daryl explained, taking off her bracelet and looking at her wrist.

“What are you doing? Why’d you take that off?” Madison asked in a panic, the last time she’d taken her bracelet off was when she and Daryl had broken up and Merle’s words were still floating in the back of her mind; even though the look on Daryl’s face was evidence against Merle’s argument she still was struggling to tune it out.

Confused by her reaction, Daryl lightly brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers, trying to assure her that everything was all right, “Shouldn’t wear nothin’ ‘til yer arm heals. I’ll keep it safe an’ give it back t’ya when yer better.”

“What’d that girl do with yer balls, boy?” Merle called out when he realized how far behind Daryl and Madison had fallen, “An’ ya quit yer bellyachin’ princess; walk it off. Jus’ a few scratches.”

Daryl glared at Merle and stormed towards him, “Hell of a lot more than scratches. Yer buddies messed ‘er up real bad back there!”

Madison couldn’t bring herself to correct Daryl about Merle’s role in what happened to her, not yet, and instead turned to Merle and yelled at him; now that she wasn’t strapped to a chair and could defend herself, she wasn’t above giving him a piece of her mind. “You’ve got some nerve even talking to me after everything that’s happened because of you!” she shouted, taking several angry steps forward. Daryl caught her and held her back, but that didn’t stop her from trying to break free as she yelled, “Where do you get off telling me to suck it up? How many times have I had a gun in my face in the past twenty-four hours, huh? I’ve been attacked and insulted in every way and you expect me to just ‘walk it off’?”

“Hey, hey! Keep it down, all of you!” Rick ordered in a harsh whisper, joining them and glaring at them each in turn, “There could be worse things than just walkers hidin’ in these trees watchin’ us. Last thing we need is for your yellin’ to lead the Governor and his men to us.” Merle laughed and started walking again while Rick shot Madison one final cautionary glare; normally she was the one person in camp he could rely on to keep a level head no matter what, but she’d been nothing but erratic since they found her and he worried what she would do next.

Daryl eased his grip and guided her forward with the rest as they walked through the forest in tense silence. Seething, Madison marched ahead, staring daggers at Merle’s back and trying to ignore the sensation of Daryl’s eyes on her. “What?” she snapped when she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Where’d that come from? What ain’t ya tellin’ me?”

“Nothing,” she barked, irritated by Daryl’s perceptive nature, “It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does,” Daryl grunted, catching her arm and bringing her to a stop, “Tell me what happened back there, the whole story.”

“Fine,” she groaned, realizing this was a fight she wouldn’t win. “They held a gun to my forehead and pulled the trigger when I didn’t crack after this,” she gestured to her face to make her point, “It was empty, it was a bluff, but I still thought I was dead. So I’m a little emotional, sorry.” She looked Daryl in the eye, the shock on his face making her tear up; if this is how he reacted when some faceless stranger did this to her, what would happened if he knew it was his brother, how was she supposed to tell him now? “We’ve both been through hell today,” she whispered, taking his hands in hers, “I just want to forget it, can we not make a big deal out of this?” Daryl watched her closely for a few moments; she was still holding something back, he just couldn’t figure out what it could be. He finally nodded, agreeing to drop the subject as she asked, and started walking before they fell too far behind the others and attracted Merle's attention again. “Thank you,” she mumbled, squeezing his hand.

The trees began to thin out and the car parked on the side of the road came into view. Rick called to Glenn and he and Michonne rushed to them, relieved that they made it back. “Now we got a problem here,” Rick told Glenn as he got closer, “I need you to back up.”

Glenn’s eyes went wide and he raised his gun as Merle stepped through the trees, “What the hell is he doing here?”

Chaos erupted as weapons were raised and everyone started yelling at everyone else, throwing accusations and demanding guns be put down. Merle stayed back, leaning against a tree smirking as he watched the effect his presence had on the group. Daryl stood in front of Glenn, putting himself between Glenn’s gun and his brother and Rick and Maggie trained their guns on Michonne as she charged forward with her sword drawn. Madison did her best to try and get everyone to drop their weapons, but her voice got lost, mixed in with everyone else’s. Daryl’s voice rose above the pandemonium when he shouted at Glenn and tried to knock the gun in his hand away, “Get that thing outta my face!”

“Man, looks like y’ve gone native, brother,” Merle laughed, enjoying the scene playing out in front of him as Rick’s group turned on each other.

Daryl spun around at his brother’s comment and shot back, “No more than ya hangin’ out with that psycho back there?”

“Oh yeah, man, ‘e is a charmer. I gotta tell ya that,” Merle paused and looked at Michonne before continuing, “Been puttin’ the wood t’yer girlfriend Andrea. Big time, baby. Mmhmmm.” Michonne stared at him and he licked and puckered his lips at her to illustrate his point.

“That’s enough out of you,” Madison hissed.

“What?” Glenn asked, “Andrea’s in Woodbury?”

“Right next t’the Governor,” Daryl answered.

While all eyes were focused on Merle, Michonne took the opportunity and tried to charge at him with her sword again. “I told you to drop that!” Rick yelled, pointing his gun at her again, “You know Andrea?” She didn’t answer and stared at Rick. “Hey, do you know Andrea?” he asked again, anger rising in his voice.

“Yep, she does,” Merle answered for her, taunting her as he spoke, “‘er an’ blondie spent all winter cuddlin’ up in the forest. Mmm-mm-mm. Yeah. My Nubian queen ‘ere had two pet walkers. No arms, cut off the jaws, kept ‘em in chains. Kinda ironic now that I think ‘bout it.”

“Shut up, bro!” Daryl threatened, turning to face him again.

“Hey man, we snagged ‘em outta the woods. Andrea was close t’dyin’.”

Maggie turned to Michonne and asked quietly, “Is that why she’s with him.” Michonne nodded slightly, answering her question.

“Yeah. Snug as two lil’ bugs.” Merle turned to Rick and laughed, “So what ya gonna do now, sheriff? Huh? Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs, an’ cowards.”

“Shut up,” Rick tossed over his shoulder, unwilling to let Michonne out of his sight.

Merle smirked, thoroughly enjoying getting under Rick’s skin, “Oh man, look at this. Pathetic. All these guns an’ no bullets in me?”

“Merle, shut up!” Daryl warned, knowing the group had no patience where his brother was concerned.

Merle finally pushed himself away from the tree he’d been leaning against and took a step forward, “Shut up yerself! Bunch of pussies ya roll-”

“Asshole,” Rick muttered as he came up behind Merle and hit him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun, knocking him to the ground before he could finish his tirade. He looked back at Michonne and scowled, “You, go wait by the car. The rest of you, follow me. We need to talk.” Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, and Madison fell into step behind Rick as he led them down the road and away from the car. When they were out of earshot, Rick turned to the group behind him, “What do we do with him? He can’t come with us, it won’t work.”

“It’s gotta,” Daryl countered immediately, not liking the direction the conversation was already taking.

“It’ll stir things up.”

“Look, the Governor’s probl’ly on ‘is way t’the prison right now,” Daryl pointed out, “Merle knows how ‘e thinks an’ we could use the muscle.”

Maggie spoke up, eyes focused on Daryl, “I’m not havin’ him at the prison.”

“He had a gun to our heads. Do you really want him sleeping in the same cellblock as Carol or Beth?” Glenn asked Daryl. Madison’s ears perked up at the mention of Carol’s name, but she quickly dismissed it, chalked it up to stress and exhaustion that made Glenn mention her out of habit.

Daryl glared at Glenn, “‘e ain’t a rapist.”

“Yeah, well his buddy is,” Glenn shot back. Madison’s mouth fell open as she watched Maggie’s expression morph from shock to anger. She caught Maggie’s eye and silently asked her if what Glenn was hinting at was true. Maggie lowered her gaze and shook her head; Madison wasn’t entirely convinced, but she let the topic drop for now.

“They ain’t buddies no more,” Daryl insisted, still standing up for his brother, “Not after last night.”

Rick shook his head, “There’s no way Merle’s gonna live there without puttin’ everyone at each other’s throats.”

From the corner of his eye Daryl saw Madison nod in agreement to Rick’s statement and scowled before turning his attention back to Rick, “So yer gonna cut Merle loose an’ bring the las’ samurai home with us?”

“She’s not comin’ back.”

“She’s not in any state to be on her own,” Maggie said.

Glenn nodded and backed Maggie up, “She did bring you guys to us.”

“And then ditched us,” Rick added bitterly, unable to forgive her for going rouge the night before.

“At least let my dad stitch her up,” Maggie begged.

“She’s too unpredictable,” Rick said, looking back to Michonne leaning against the Hyundai.

Daryl followed Rick’s stare and glared at Michonne, “That’s right. We don’t know who she is. But Merle, Merle’s blood.”

“No, Merle is your blood,” Glenn countered, “My blood; my family is standing right here and waiting for us back at the prison.

“And you’re part of that family,” Rick told Daryl, “But he’s not. He’s not.”

Daryl paused and looked at everyone in the circle, “Man, y’all don’t know.” He glanced at Madison who was staring at the ground with her arms folded, trying to stay out of the debate. “Yer quiet, why ain’t ya sayin’ somethin’?”

Madison’s head snapped up when she realized Daryl was talking to her; she hadn’t said anything because as much as she loved Daryl, she didn’t want his brother living with them at the prison. It was the coward’s way of handling the situation, but the others were doing a good job of arguing against Merle’s staying with them so she let them get their hands dirty and stayed out of it. She met Daryl’s frustrated gaze, “I don’t know what you want me to say. I-I know he’s your brother, but…”

“Fine,” Daryl cut her off, “We’ll fend fer ourselves.”

“Daryl, you know that’s not what I meant, don’t be like that,” Madison tried to defend herself.

Glenn talked over her, “That’s not what I was saying.”

“No ‘im, no me,” Daryl stated flatly, staring at Glenn.

“Daryl, you don’t have to do that,” Maggie spoke up.

Daryl shrugged, “It was always Merle an’ I b’fore this.”

“Will you listen to yourself? No one’s telling you to go. We’ll figure this out,” Madison tried to reason with Daryl, taking his hand and trying to make him look at her.

“You serious? You’re just gonna leave like that?” Glenn asked, betrayal and frustration easily heard in his voice.

“Ya’d do the same thing.”

“What do you want us to tell Carol?” Glenn asked.

Madison’s eyes went wide, “What?”

“She’ll understand,” Daryl answered Glenn.

“Carol’s alive?” Madison blurted out, knowing that wasn’t the biggest issue, but too in shock to stop herself from asking anyway.

Daryl glanced at her and nodded briefly then looked at the others surrounding him, waiting for them to try and stop him from leaving or to cave and let Merle stay, but knowing that wouldn’t happen. When he was proved right and they all stayed silent he nodded, accepting the fact that they were letting him go, that these people who called themselves his family would rather send him off into the woods than let Merle stay with them. “Say goodbye t’yer pop fer me,” he spat at Maggie as he pushed past her. Glenn called after him to try and make him stop, but his cries fell on deaf ears.

Panic washed over Madison; this couldn’t be happening, Daryl couldn’t really be leaving and she rushed after him and fell into stride beside him, practically jogging to keep up with him as he marched towards the car. “Daryl, stop! Stop walking for a second and look at me,” she cried, grabbing his bicep and turning him towards her, “We can work this out, just give them a little time to come up with a solution. They need you back at the prison!”

“Merle needs me.”

“Hey. Hey!” Rick called as he caught up to Daryl and Madison, “There’s gotta be another way.”

“Don’t ask me t’leave ‘im,” Daryl shot back, “I already did that once.”

“We started somethin’ last night. You realize that? Huh?” Rick asked, trying to convince Daryl to stay when they needed him to defend camp.

Daryl stared at Rick as he opened the backdoor of the car, “No ‘im, no me. That’s all I can say.” Rick stared at Daryl in disbelief as he grabbed his gear from the back of the car. When Rick didn’t say anything, Daryl glanced at him; no matter how much it hurt that he was going to let him leave, this man was his friend and he wanted him safe, “Take care of yerself. Take care of Lil’ Asskicker. Carl. ‘e’s one tough kid.” He threw his backpack over his shoulder and took Madison’s hand, “C’mon Maddie, let’s go.”

Madison looked at Daryl then over her shoulder to Maggie and Glenn as they approached the car as she fell into step next to Daryl, numbly following him as her life took a drastic, unexpected turn. Her eyes flickered ahead and she saw Merle smirking at her as they walked towards him and she stopped in her tracks. “No,” she whispered weakly.

“What?” Daryl asked, coming to a stop and dropping her hand, hoping he’d misheard her. He met her golden brown eyes and his heart broke when he saw the torment in her expression; he’d heard her correctly. “Y’ain’t comin’?”

“Don’t look at me like that, please; don’t look at me like I just stabbed you in the back,” she begged, fighting back tears at the betrayal in his voice. She glanced over Daryl’s shoulder and saw Merle staring at them with a smug look on his face; he seemed pleased that Daryl’s world was crashing down around him. Merle caught Madison staring at him and winked at her; she shook her head and tore her eyes away from him and stared into the eyes of the man she loved more than life, “I’m sorry. I can’t-I can’t go. Not with him. Not after everything…”

Desperate to change her mind, Daryl cupped her cheek as he tried to defend Merle, telling her the same flimsy excuse he told himself; it was enough to make him not hate his brother, maybe it would convince Madison to stay with him. “All that shit ‘e done, takin’ y’all t’that town, knockin’ ya out, attackin’ Glenn, that wasn’t ‘im. ‘e was jus’ doin’ what the Governor told ‘im t’do.”

“That’s not it, he…” she stammered, raising a trembling hand to her forehead where Merle held the gun to her head. Daryl was a smart man, she couldn’t believe he hadn’t figured out what Merle had done to her, all the signs were there; the only reason he didn’t figure it out was because he didn’t want to know so he turned a blind eye to the obvious facts. Her mind raced as she struggled to find a way to explain herself to the man staring at her, she dug deep and tried to find the strength to go with Daryl in spite of Merle, but she saw her bloody wrists and remembered the look in his eye and the sleazy things he said when he stared at Ally’s picture. The demeaning way he talked about her and how Daryl saw her was still fresh in her brain; he’d done too much, hurt her too deeply. She couldn’t look past it. “I’m sorry, I can’t do it. Daryl, stay here with me. Please. Stay where you belong, with your family.”

“Merle’s my family,” he said, lowering his hand and fighting desperately to keep his voice from cracking. Everyone and everything else could disappear, but as long as he had Madison by his side he knew he could survive, he couldn’t understand how she could pick Rick and the others over him.

“You said I was your family,” she whispered, unable to hide how much Daryl’s words had hurt her.

“Blood gotta stick t’gether, Maddie.”

“Family is more than just blood.”

Daryl sighed, “Then what’re ya doin’? Why ain’t ya comin’? Put yerself in my place, what if it was Ally? Huh?”

“Don’t use her against me like this, not again.”

“Would ya be able t’walk away from ‘er?” he finished, ignoring Madison’s protest. A deafening silence fell between the couple as Madison’s eyes fell to the ground; she hated to admit it, but she honestly didn’t know what she would do in Daryl’s shoes. When she finally looked up, Daryl was already looking at her face, waiting for an answer; when an answer didn’t come he exhaled deeply, “I can’t leave ‘im again.”

Tears pooled in Madison’s eyes and she furiously blinked them back as her voice cracked, “But you can leave me?”

“Don’t wanna, Buster. Y’ain’t givin’ me a choice.”

“The choice is pretty simple actually. Me or him.”

“Ain’t nothin’ simple ‘bout this!” Daryl snapped, immediately regretting losing his temper with her; now wasn’t the time to fly off the handle, not if he was going to convince her to come with him.

“Please don’t go, Daryl,” she begged, touching his face, running her thumb along his cheekbone; she knew how this discussion was going to end, they were just prolonging the inevitable at this point and she wanted to commit every detail of his face to memory while she could. “I’m not strong enough; I won’t make it without y-”

Daryl cut Madison off with a kiss, a kiss so painfully tender and sincere that she knew this was goodbye. “Stop,” he whispered when he broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers and placing his hands on either side of her neck, “Yes ya will. Yer my lil’ Ball Buster, remember? Yer stronger than ya think.” He kissed her again gently; he couldn’t make himself believe that this was the last time he’d hold her or feel her lips against his and he wanted to make the moment last as long as he could. Reluctantly he ended the kiss and looked in her eyes, the heartache there cutting like a knife and almost making him reconsider walking away. Almost. He ran his thumb along the edge of her bottom lip, avoiding the cut. “I love ya Maddie,’ he whispered, the quiver in his voice giving away the agony he was feeling in their last moments together, “Promise me y’ll be safe an’ keep fightin’.”

“You too. I love you so much, Daryl,” Madison breathed as she threw herself into Daryl’s arms and clung to him, dreading the moment when he would let go. “I’m sorry,” she said softly in his ear, hating herself for losing him again.

“Hey, Darylina! We goin’ or not?” Merle called impatiently from the same tree he was leaning on earlier, “We’re burnin’ daylight with all yer blubberin’.”

Daryl released Madison and spun around to face Merle and yelled, “Comin’! Jus’ gimme a damn minute, will ya?” He faced Madison again and took her small hands in his and held them to his chest; this was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do and he couldn’t put it off any more. Their eyes locked and he opened his mouth to say something, but he wasn’t sure what, and then closed it again. What could he say at a moment like this? He squeezed Madison’s hands then reached into his pocket and pushed her bracelet into her hands, wanting her to have something to remember him by. Words continued to fail him; all he could do was nod as he cleared his throat in a feeble attempt to hold his emotions back. He’d never felt pain like this before and he didn’t have any anger or resentment to fall back on to help him cope; he understood why should couldn’t live with Merle, he did, but that didn’t make it any easier to walk away.

Madison held on to his hand for as long as she could as he slowly walked towards his brother, her heart ripping from her chest with every step he took. The dreaded moment came and she had to let go of his hand; their eyes met one last time and he quickly dropped his gaze, unable to watch the pain in her face as he broke contact with her. Her hand fell limp to her side and she couldn’t hold back her tears anymore and she let them silently roll down her face as she watched him go.

Merle greeted his brother with open arms and a warm smile as he threw his arm around his little brother’s shoulders and led him into the forest. “C’mon, bro,” Daryl muttered, casting one final glance at Madison as he placed his hand on Merle’s shoulder.

As the Dixon brothers disappeared into the trees, Merle looked back at Madison, held her gaze, and asked Daryl loudly enough for her to hear, “So yer ginger bitch ain’t comin’, huh? Looks like I’ve been right all ‘long, lil’ brother; ain’t nobody gonna care ‘bout ya ‘cept me.”


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again everyone, it's that time-update day! Yay! I'm sure no one cares about what struggles I had while writing the chapters or why I took so long to update, so I won't bore you with it, suffice it to say I'm just proud of myself for getting this chapter up and posted. I hope you enjoy it, I appreciate all the support and good vibes. Same as always, I only own Madison, everything else belongs to the great minds behind TWD, I'm just putting my spin on the wonderful world they created.

Merle’s callous words knocked the wind out of Madison and she blindly groped through her tears for the car so she could sit before her legs gave out on her; Daryl was gone, he really walked away. Again. She couldn’t believe this was happening; this time yesterday she was waking up in the arms of the man she loved in the cell they shared; they were together, they were happy. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stared at her leather bracelet and traced the studded rose pattern. A new wave of tears started to fall as she tried to figure out how so much could change in only twenty-four hours.

She took several deep, shaky breaths as she tried to pull herself together, shutting her eyes tightly as though that could erase the sight of Daryl slipping into the trees or of Merle’s triumphant smirk when Madison stayed behind and he took a cruel stab at his younger brother. Madison had often wondered where Daryl got the idea that he was so worthless and with that one parting comment, Merle gave her the answers she’d been looking for. The thought of Daryl alone with someone who would belittle him like that and make him feel insignificant and meaningless again all but crippled her. How long before the man she knew was gone and replaced by a heartless, bitter shell? It was clear by the look in Daryl’s eyes as he walked away that he was hurting and Merle wasted no time pouring salt into his brother’s open wound by trying to make Daryl doubt Madison’s feelings for him just like he’d tried to make her doubt Daryl’s. Anger began to fill her and mix with the sorrow as she hung her head and tried to accept this new chapter of her life.

Maggie quietly took a seat on the bumper next to Madison and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. “I don’t know what to say,” Maggie whispered, her voice pulling Madison out of her thoughts, “I know you’re not okay, but are you okay?” Madison let out a humorless chuckle and shook her head with a shrug, staring out into the woods. A sad smile spread across Maggie’s lips as she rubbed her friend’s back.

“We can't stay here; we're down two men and we're too exposed. Madison, get up and get in the car; we can't just sit on the side of the road while you throw yourself a pity party,” Rick gruffly cut in, taking his frustrations over Daryl leaving out on Madison.

“You're one to talk; disappearin’ in the prison for a day and a half doin’ who the hell knows what in the boiler room after Lori died. We can give her five minutes,” Maggie spat, waving Rick away with an icy glare.

“No, he’s right,” Madison whispered, drying her eyes and rising to her feet, “We’re sitting ducks out here. And your dad needs to take a look at Glenn.” She made her way to the passenger side of the car, ignoring the impatient way Rick pushed past her as he began tossing their gear into the trunk. Allowing herself one last moment to grieve, she closed her eyes and held on to the door handle tightly before sharply yanking it open and bending down to climb inside. “What am I doing?” she asked herself out loud, taking a step back from the car looking into the dense trees behind her; staying behind had been a mistake and she could still make it right, but it was now or never.

“What’s the hold up? Are you getting in or not?” Glenn asked, appearing beside her.

Madison looked at him and the other people surrounding her in turn, the weight of her decision hitting her light a freight train. “No. No I’m not,” she answered, turning around and walking away without any further explanation. She tuned out the others as they called after her and pushed forward; she had to find Daryl, no matter the personal cost. She couldn’t leave him alone with Merle and his, no doubt relentless, stream of disparaging comments. Daryl had come so far in the time she’d known him; he was no longer the angry, bitter redneck that plucked her out of the forest and she knew Merle would do everything in his power to bring out that side of Daryl again. She couldn’t let that happen. She had to prove Merle wrong and show Daryl that she did care for him, that she loved him; she couldn’t let him think Merle was right about her.

Rick caught up to Madison and caught her by the arm, forcing her to stop walking away. “Are you kiddin’ me right now, Madison?” he demanded, tossing the bag of weapons in his hand to the ground, “We risked our lives to save you! We lost-we lost Oscar. Then Daryl. And now you’re leavin’?”

“You can save the guilt trip; it’s not going to work. You don’t have to like it, but I’m going.”

“What about Beth? Or my dad? How do I explain to him that he lost a daughter today?” Maggie asked, joining Rick and Madison.

“I’m not his; he won’t even care-”

Maggie cut Madison off, “You might as well be; family’s more than just blood. You said so yourself.”

Tears stung Madison's eyes as her own words were used against her. The memory of the pained look in Daryl's eyes was the only thing keeping her resolve from completely crumbling; he needed her, they needed each other. “I should've gone with Daryl when he asked me to, staying behind was a mistake. I'm sorry. I know you don’t understand, but I can’t stay.”

“You'll never find them out there, you know that, right? Daryl knows this area like the back of his hand. Trust me; they're long gone by now,” Rick insisted, trying desperately not to lose another member of his already weakened group.

“It hasn't been that long; they can't have gotten too far. And Daryl’s taught me how to track. I'm not as good as he is, but I can follow a fresh set of footprints...none of that matters, I have to try,” Madison explained. Neither of the people standing in front of her looked convinced and she tried again to make them see the situation from her point of view, “Look, it's not just about wanting to be with him, I mean that's definitely part of it, but I can't let Merle break him down again. He's grown so much and Merle is going to do everything he can to drag Daryl back down to his level. I can't let that happen; he needs to have someone on his side.”

Silence fell as Rick and Maggie digested Madison’s words. Rick stared her down and shook his head refusing to accept her logic. Maggie glanced behind her at Glenn then turned back to Madison and whispered, “Go.” It had taken her a while, but she finally understood where Madison was coming from. “Go. I'd do the same thing if it was Glenn.”

Madison wrapped her arms around Maggie and gave her a tight hug. Leaving the group behind was harder than she'd expected it to be; these people really had become her family and leaving them with the looming threat the Governor presented was excruciating. “Thank you for understanding,” she said through her tears as she and her adoptive sister clung to each other; Maggie had been there for Madison since her first day with the group and this goodbye was tearing her apart, “What are you going to tell your dad and Beth?”

“You let me worry about that, okay?” Maggie insisted with a shaky voice, releasing Madison and looking at her with tears pooling in her own eyes, “Right now all you need to think about is doin’ what’s right for you for a change.”

With a grateful nod, Madison smiled at Maggie before turning her attention to Rick and taking a deep breath, bracing herself for whatever he would say to try and change her mind one last time; it didn’t matter what came out of his mouth, she was going, she just hoped to part ways on good terms. He looked at her and scratched his brow with his thumb, leaving his hand there as he spoke, “We’re weak without Daryl; we need you.” He paused as he stared up the abandoned road towards the prison.

“You’ll be fine without me; you were fine without me once before.”

A smile flickered across Rick’s face and disappeared as quickly as it appeared, “Actually if you'd of let me finish I was gonna say I’ve learned better than to try and change your mind and make you do somethin’ you don't wanna do.”

Without thinking, Madison gave Rick a quick hug, taking him by surprise as much as herself. “Thank you for taking me in; you saved my life that day,” she whispered.

Unsure of what to say, Rick gave her a sharp nod as she let him go and turned to leave. “Madison, hold on,” he called after her.

She paused and looked at him as he bent down and rummaged through the weapons bag at his feet. He stood and took a step towards her, holding out a box of ammo and a small pocket knife. “No, Rick,” Madison gasped, holding her hands up, “You’re going to need all the bullets you can get your hands on if that governor comes to the prison. I can’t-“

“Take them; it's not much so you’re gonna have to make ‘em count,” Rick interrupted her, pushing the ammunition and knife into her hands, “If you change your mind or can’t find them, you know where to find us.”

Before she started tearing up again, Madison dropped her gaze and nodded as she shoved the bullets into her pocket and tightly gripped the pocket knife, enjoying the comforting feeling of having a knife in her hand again. “Take care of yourselves,” she mumbled before abruptly turning around and racing into the trees, unable to handle another long, drawn out goodbye.

It was harder to track the Dixon brothers than Madison had anticipated. For the first few feet into the forest their tracks were easily visible in the dirt, but then they veered to the right and into the dense underbrush and she had to rely on broken twigs and bent branches to tell her which way they went; it wasn’t easy, but it was doable. After a half hour of tracking, Madison paused and let out a frustrated sigh; she couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes behind them, how had they gotten so far ahead of her? She ran her hand through her hair and held her bangs out of her face as she looked around her, biting her lip and debating backtracking to where the tracks veered off the dirt path thinking maybe she picked up the wrong trail. The trees rustled from somewhere behind her and she crouched to the forest floor, hoping to avoid a run in with a walker in her weakened state. She held her breath and stared in the direction the sound came from; adjusting her grip on her knife in case she didn’t do a good enough job hiding. A snake slithered across her hand, startling her and making her lose her balance as she jumped back and broke several branches of a nearby tree when she tried to steady herself. She froze in terror as she waited for the walker to follow the sound and come at her.

“D’ya hear somethin’?”

“Y’ve been askin’ that an’ lookin’ b’hind ya since we left. Get it through yer head, lil’ brother, they ain’t comin’ after ya an’ neither’s that bitch of yers.”

“Told ya t’stop callin’ ‘er that!”

Madison couldn’t stop smiling as she carefully stood up and picked her way through the undergrowth towards the voices which seemed to have stopped moving for the time being; she never thought she’d be so happy to hear Merle Dixon in her life.

“Jus’ callin’ ‘em as I see ‘em. I jus’ don’t get it, man. Yeah, she ain’t bad t’look at, but she’s a smartass that don’t know how t’shut ‘er damn mouth.” Madison finally caught up to Daryl and Merle, but stopped and watched them through the trees for a minute, wanting to get a feel for the situation she was about to put herself in. Daryl was leaning against a tree with his shoulders slumped and staring at the ground, the defeat in his expression cutting her like a knife. Merle, on the other hand, was reveling in the situation, standing tall and towering over his little brother as he continued his verbal assault. “Look, we’ll find ya ‘nother piece of ass if that’s what’s got yer panties in a twist.”

Merle’s word’s struck a nerve and Daryl stood up straight and got in his brother’s face, “Shut the hell up! Ya don’t get it, wasn’t like that with ‘er!”

The grin that covered Merle’s face made Madison sick, “Yer tellin’ me a sexy lil’ thing like that was cozyin’ up t’ya an’ ya weren’t nailin’ ‘er? What? Ya gone queer on me, boy?”

“I ain’t no damn queer!”

“Uh huh. Sure. Whate’er ya say, lil’ brother. S’when ya say ‘wasn’t like that’ ya mean-”

“He means it’s none of your business,” Madison said as she broke through the trees, unable to listen to Merle anymore. A smirk spread across her face when she saw Merle’s dumbstruck expression. “A little unnerving hearing you call me sexy, though.”

“How long ya been followin’ us?” Merle demanded.

“Not long. I heard you before I saw you; your voice carries.”

Daryl stared at her, afraid to believe his eyes, as he lowered his crossbow. He’d spent the past forty-five minutes trying to accept that he’d never see her again, and now she was standing in front of him; he thought he was hallucinating until Merle started talking to her. “Maddie?” he finally asked in a low whisper, his mind reeling.

“Hi,” she answered with an uneasy chuckle, suddenly feeling uncomfortable, like she was intruding. She studied Daryl’s expression and couldn’t read anything beyond shock on his face; he didn’t move or say anything else and the longer he stared at her, the more worried she became that he was mad at her for staying behind. Nervously tucking her hair behind her ear, she shrugged and gave him a shy smile, “I changed my mind; is it too late to tag along?” Another moment of awkward silence passed and the smile on Madison’s face faded as she took a small step back the way she came. “Or I could...I-I should just go,” she mumbled, pointing behind her and turning to leave, heartbroken. Daryl didn’t want her here; after all was said and done, was Merle actually right? As she’d made her way through the woods, she had run through various scenarios that could play out when she found them, but this outcome was one she hadn't considered. What was she supposed to do now? She was completely turned around; she’d never find the prison again and staying in the woods alone wasn’t an option, she wouldn't last a week.

“Where d’ya think yer goin’? Get yer ass back here.”

Daryl’s deep voice brought Madison to a stop. She exhaled and closed her eyes, a relieved smile playing at the corner of her lips as she faced him again. “Took you long enough. Was it that hard for you to decide you wanted me to stay?” she joked quietly, hoping to hide how much his silence had frightened her.

“Shut up,” he drawled as he dropped his bow and closed the distance between them in three long strides, finally able to move again now that the shock had worn off. Seeing through her feeble attempt to cover up her concern, he scooped her up in his arms and whispered in her ear, “Don’t be stupid, course not.” Madison nodded against his shoulder, taking comfort in his words and trying to get a grip on the insecurities clawing their way to the surface. Sensing that something was still wrong, Daryl gently kissed her cheek and held her tighter, trying to banish whatever demons she was fighting with his embrace.

Madison let out quiet, contented sigh as she turned her face towards Daryl’s and lightly brushed his hair off his forehead. She closed her eyes as he gently tilted her head back and held her breath waiting for his lips to meet hers.

“Oh man, what a show!” Madison gasped and her eyes flew open when Merle spoke; for one blissful moment she had forgotten he was there. “C’mon now, honey. Don’t stop on my account,” Merle laughed seeing the red tinting her cheeks then looking at Daryl he added, “I love watchin’ two chicks make out.”

Daryl immediately let go of her and cast his eyes down to the forest floor as he retrieved his bow, focusing on it rather than the two people staring at him. He knew if he acknowledged his brother, even with as little as a glance, it would only invite more mocking and he couldn't bring himself to look at Madison and see firsthand the pain and confusion he was sure were in her eyes.

“So where are we headed? What’s the plan?” Madison blurted, eager to change the subject for Daryl’s sake; he snuck a peek at her and gave her a small, grateful half smile, unable to thank her for understanding in any other way. Seeing how quickly Merle was getting into Daryl’s head scared her. She was right, Merle was bad for Daryl; this is why she was willing to let Merle put a bullet in her brain if it meant keeping him away from Daryl. She cleared her throat before trusting herself to speak, her concern for Daryl making her emotional, “Do we even have a plan?”

“Yer gonna learn how it’s really done t’day, girlie,” Merle laughed, staring at Madison and sizing her up. He’d underestimated her and her devotion to his brother; she was stronger than he thought and he didn’t like that she wasn’t afraid to stand up to him, but he’d found her breaking point before, he’d be able to do it again. “We don’t need a plan other than don’t get bit.”

“Plan couldn’t hurt, bro,” Daryl murmured, glancing at Merle, “Least a direction would be good.”

“Y’were fine without one ‘til the skirt showed up.”

Daryl prickled and stood a little taller, the need to keep Madison safe giving him a little push to challenge Merle, “She made a good point. Ain’t like it was b’fore Atlanta, there’s more of them bastards now; can’t go runnin’ ‘round out ‘ere blind.”

Merle looked past Daryl and glared at Madison, recognizing the strength his brother drew from her. “Fine,” he said with a sickening grin and pointing behind him and to the right, “We go this way an’ get as far from Woodbury as we can. We’re dead the second the Governor catches wind of us. Is that ‘nough of a plan fer ya, lil’ brother?”

“Fer now,” Daryl answered. Merle sneered, turned around, and started walking. Daryl looked at Madison and began to reach for her hand before he stopped himself; instead he gestured her forward with his head and fell into step behind her, hating himself for being so concerned by what would come out of Merle’s mouth next that he couldn’t even bring himself to touch her.

The three of them made their way through the forest in tense silence, each lost in their own thoughts as they tried to figure out how to make this situation work. The silence was broken by Merle as the group walked into a small clearing in the trees, “Gonna get dark soon, this is as good a place as any t’call it a day.”

“Fine by me,” Daryl groaned, shrugging off his backpack and letting it fall to the ground, “The two of ya stay ‘ere an’ get a fire goin’. I’m gonna go an’ catch us some dinner.”

“I’ll come with you,” Madison volunteered a little too hastily, the thought of being left alone with Merle again sending her into a near panic.

Merle chuckled, seeing the apprehension in her eyes, “C’mon now, ain’t gonna bite ya.”

“Your teeth aren’t what I’m worried about,” she snapped, throwing a distrustful glare at him.

“We’re on the same side now, princess. Can’t ya let bygones be bygones?”

“That’s easy for you to say, you aren’t the one-”

“‘e’s right, Maddie,” Daryl said quietly, meeting her angry eyes as she spun around and glared at him. “Ya knew followin’ me meant livin’ with ‘im too. Ain’t gonna be easy, but ya gotta learn t’get along somehow; both of ya.” Madison took a deep breath and closed her eyes, raising her head towards the sky; Daryl was right. She knew what she was getting herself into when she left the others; she’d made her decision and now she had to live with it. She met Daryl’s piercing blue eyes and gave him a small nod, letting him know she understood. “Won’t be gone long. Yell if ya two get in trouble. Ain’t goin’ far; I’ll hear ya,” Daryl assured the woman in front of him, his eyes darting to Merle before he summoned his courage and lightly touched Madison’s arm, doing his best to ignore his brother’s scoffs.

A small smile covered Madison’s face at Daryl’s touch; she knew how much it took for him to show even that small amount of affection in front of his brother. “I don’t like you going out there alone with that lunatic looking for us. Be careful, okay?”

Daryl tossed Madison his lighter and turned to walk away, “Always am.”

Madison gave Merle a sidelong glance and sighed; swallowing her hatred for the older Dixon she asked, “How do you want to do this? Do you want to make some sort of fire pit and I’ll look for firewood or-”

“What the hell was that?” Merle cut her off, giving her a scathing glare.

“What was what?”

“Daryl can’t know ‘bout what went down in Woodbury. Y’hear me, girl?

Madison folded her arms and stared at Merle defiantly, “Then I guess you should’ve thought about that before you beat me to a pulp back there, huh?”

A dark cloud settled over Merle and he got eerily quiet as he slowly and deliberately walked towards Madison. The intense anger in his eyes terrified her and she backed up to put as much distance between herself and Merle as possible, but he matched every step she took and soon had her backed against a tree as he stared down at her. She slowly inched her hand towards her back pocket to grab her knife; she didn’t want to use it, but she needed to able to protect herself if he tried anything. The movement caught his attention and his eyes flickered to her hand and back to her face. She stopped reaching for the knife once she knew he’d caught her, but she let her hand hover where it was, just in case. “I spent the last ten months thinkin’ m’brother was dead’r worse,” he growled, “Now I got ‘im back an’ I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let some random bitch screw with ‘is head an’ mess that up.”

“I’m not the one screwing with his head, Merle,” Madison managed to say, pulling herself together enough to push him away from her, “And you can back off, your little intimidation tactic isn’t working. I’m not afraid of you.”

“Yer eyes say different.”

Madison shook her head, trying to fake confidence, “You’re not going to try anything with Daryl here.”

“Look ‘round ya, princess; Daryl ain’t ‘ere,” Merle said with a dark chuckle, “An’ ‘e ain’t always gonna be ‘ere. Ya know, biters come through an’ the shit starts hittin’ the fan… Accidents happen. People die.”

It took a moment for Madison to fully comprehend what Merle was suggesting, mostly because she didn’t want to believe it; she was stuck living with this man and she was holding onto a tiny sliver of hope that he would be different after he was out of the Governor’s shadow. Once his words sank in her eyes narrowed and met his icy stare, “Is that a threat?”

Knowing he had her scared, he put his hand on her shoulder and smirked when she jumped and every muscle in her body tensed. “Nah, more like givin’ ya a friendly reminder.” Madison knocked his hand off her shoulder. “Best get that fire goin’, huh? C’mon. I’ll bring the wood an’ ya put it where ya want it,” he said as he wiggled his eyebrows at her and winked; he finally had the upper hand with this girl and was enjoying making her uncomfortable every chance he had.

The minutes passed painfully slowly for Madison as she eagerly awaited Daryl’s return. She pulled her eyes away from the fire she was struggling to light and glanced at Merle from the corner of her eye; she knew she could hold her own against a walker, but she honestly didn’t know if she could defend herself against Merle if he decided to follow through on his threat. She had a suspicion that he was all talk in this instance, but was she willing to risk her life on a hunch?

“I know I’m awful handsome, red, but if ya spent half as much time working on that fire as yer spendin’ lookin’ at me it’d be lit by now.”

“I have a name, you know.”

“Whatever. Ain’t important.”

“The wood’s not dry enough,” Madison huffed, choosing to ignore how much Merle sounded like Charles at the moment and trying to keep her temper in check. She sat back on her heals and wiped her brow with the back of her hand, “If you think you can do better, be my guest, but I’m telling you it won’t light.”

“I got that wood myself, it’s fine. Ya jus’ ain’t doin’ it right.”

“What part of the wood’s not dry enough don’t you understand? We were on the road all winter; believe it or not I know how to build a simple fire,” she snapped, groaning internally at her inability to keep it together; her big mouth was going to be the death of her.

Merle ambled towards her and ripped Daryl’s lighter from her hands, “Well don’t that make ya special? Let’s call the Girl Scouts an’ they’ll give ya a fancy little badge. Watch an’ learn, princess. Ain’t rocket science.” He crouched down and tried to light the fire with no more success than Madison had had. Using all of the self-control she possessed, she held her tongue and sat back, feeling vindicated as she watched him struggle.

“Why ain’t the fire lit?” Daryl barked as he entered their makeshift campsite, throwing his bow to the ground and marching over to Madison and Merle, “What the hell’ve ya been doin’? Even gave ya my lighter, how hard could it be?”

”Please, Daryl, don’t start. I can take it from him, but not you,” Madison mumbled, defeat quickly replacing her moment of validation; just because Merle couldn't light the fire either didn't make it okay, the fact remained that they were running out of daylight and still without a fire.

A small smile spread across her face when Daryl rested his powerful hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze before bending down to see what the problem was with the fire. Pulling a branch from the pile, he examined it, “Ain’t no way this shit’s gonna light; ain’t dry ‘nough.” Madison’s smile widened slightly hearing Daryl confirm what she said earlier.

Merle glared at Daryl, furious with his little brother for pointing out that he was in the wrong. His eyes scanned the ground before landing on Daryl’s face. “Don’t matter if there ain’t no fire when we got no food t’cook,” he pointed out, turning the tables and redirecting the attention onto Daryl’s failure rather than his own, “Where’s that dinner ya promised, boy?”

“Ain’t my fault there’s no game ‘round,” Daryl grumbled as he quickly stood and crossed back to where he dropped his bow and retrieved a can of condensed soup and a beef stick. He turned back around and held up his find, “Found an abandoned campsite lil’ ways away. Ain’t much but-”

Merle jumped to his feet and rushed towards Daryl, fuming. “What the hell d’ya call this?” he asked, grabbing the can of soup and holding it in Daryl’s face.

“Food,” Daryl shot back, smacking his brother’s hand away, “Somethin’ t’keep us alive fer one more day.”

Madison scrambled over to the two brothers, the tension between them was palpable and she was afraid a fist fight would break out any moment. In an attempt to calm the Dixons down she said, “It’s more than we had an hour ago. It will get us through the night and tomorrow we’ll find something else.”

Merle rolled his eyes at Madison’s comment and took another step closer to Daryl, “It’s the weak ass way of survivin’ is what it is.”

“Drop it, Merle,” Madison warned; she was sick of listening to Merle tear Daryl down at every opportunity and couldn’t take it anymore, “When you volunteer to go hunt or at the very least offer to go with him, then you can talk; but until then do us all a favor and shut up!”

“Oh man, this is too good,” Merle laughed, “Got the lil’ woman fightin’ yer battles fer ya now?”

“Someone has to stand up for him.”

Embarrassed by Merle’s comments and that Madison felt like he couldn’t stand up for himself, Daryl lashed out, “Fer once in yer life, jus’ shut the hell up, Madison! Don’t need shit from ya!”

“I’m on your side, why are you yelling at me?”

“‘Cause I don’t need no damn woman doin’ my talkin’ fer me!”

“Try again,” she said, her voice cold as ice as she gave Daryl a withering stare and stood with her hands on her hips. Daryl took a small step towards her and stopped himself, hanging his head realizing he was taking his anger out on the wrong person. He risked glancing at her again and mumbled an apology and exhaled deeply as he watched her face soften. He had to pull himself together or he’d push Madison away; how many more second chances would she be willing to give him before she couldn’t take it anymore?

A low whistle pulled Daryl and Madison’s attention away from each other and they both apprehensively looked at Merle. “Not only does the lil’ woman fight yer battles, she calls the shots too, huh? Yer balls even still attached, lil’ brother? Or they jus’ rollin’ ‘round this chick’s purse next t’ ‘er tampons an’ lipstick?”

“Will you just shut up? I can’t take it anymore, the way you pit everyone against each other; it’s insane!” Madison knew she needed to stop talking, she was only going to take the situation from bad to worse, but she couldn’t force her mouth shut and she kept yelling at Merle, ignoring the rational side of her brain telling her to rein it in, “Is this fun for you? Do you get some kind of sick pleasure from tearing people apart? No wonder they left you on that roof!” She gasped and a hand flew to her mouth as her words hung in the air; she hated Merle, but even so she’d crossed a line and she felt terrible.

“Damn ya got a mouth on ya, sweetheart,” Merle said with a humorless chuckle, shooting a dangerous glare at Madison. Daryl might be all right with this girl running her mouth all the time, but he certainly wasn’t; if she was going to stick around something had to be done to teach this woman her place. “Y’always like this or d’I jus’ make ya all hot an’ bothered?”

“Stop talkin’ bro,” Daryl warned.

Merle was silent for a moment as he studied his younger brother and the protective way he stood closer to Madison. “She must put that mouth of ‘ers t’good use when the two of y’are alone t’gether, am I right?” he asked, casting a sidelong glance at Madison, pleased to see the humiliated flush spreading across her face and her downcast eyes as she folded her arms and tried to make herself as small as possible to escape what he was implying. Never pulling his eyes from Madison he added, “Why else would ya put up with ‘er shit?”

“Told ya t’shut up!”

“Daryl, don’t,” Madison weakly mumbled, squeezing her eyes closed as she desperately fought back the hot tears stinging her eyes. She was touched that Daryl was standing up for her, but she knew it would only piss Merle off more and make matters worse; she wished he would let it go so his brother could get his last few shots in and then the subject would be dropped.

“What? Jus’ tryin’ t’figure out why yer keepin’ ‘er ‘round. She must be good fer somethin’,” Merle taunted his brother before facing Madison and puckering his lips, “Maybe ol’ Merle could take ya out fer a test drive, see what all the fuss is ‘bout; whaddya say?”

Disgust filled her as her head snapped up at Merle’s suggestion, “I’d rather be fed to a pack of walkers than have you touch me.”

“Oh yeah; um-hm. Knew ya’d like that idea; deny it all ya want, I can see it in yer eyes, girl. Girl’s like ya’re always ready t’try somethin’ new. Ain’t that right, sugar tits?” Merle smirked as he took a small step forward and extended his hand towards Madison.

Madison recoiled from Merle’s outstretched hand and stepped back towards Daryl, clinging to his arm. No one had ever talked to her this way before and she’d never felt cheaper in her life. Daryl gently pushed her behind him as he took a step forward and glared at his brother, challenging him to say thing else, “Ain’t foolin’ ‘round. Drop it.”

“Hey now, darlin’; don’t get all bent outta shape. I’s jus’ havin’ a lil’ fun is all,” Merle said to Madison, holding his hand up in mock surrender; he had to play nice now that Daryl was worked up, but he was pleased with himself for finally putting her in her place.

“Where have I heard that before?” she whispered before she abruptly released Daryl’s arm and spun around, sprinting away from camp; wandering off on her own was dangerous and stupid, but she didn’t care, she couldn’t be around Merle any longer and give him more opportunities to hurl insults and innuendos at her. She stopped running and sank onto a fallen tree; leaning forward with her elbows resting on her knees she cradled her head and let a few tears fall before she angrily wiped them away. This was another reason she had to run away, she couldn’t let that heartless prick see her cry.

Daryl watched helplessly as Madison darted out of sight and sighed as he began to chase after her, coming to a stop when a self-satisfied chuckle escaped Merle’s lips. Without a second thought Daryl whipped around and got in his brother’s face; Merle could say anything he wanted to about him, but Madison was off limits. “What the hell ya laughin’ at?” he barked.

“C’mon, man. That bitch can’t take a joke-it’s funny.”

“Call ‘er that again, I’m gonna beat yer ass int’the ground.”

“I’d like t’see ya try, lil’ brother.”

Daryl threw one last, threatening glare at his brother before he turned around to go look for Madison, muttering under his breath, “Douchebag.”

“This is great; always wanted a baby sister,” Merle called after him, laughing when Daryl paused long enough to flip him off before turning his attention back to Madison’s trail.

It didn’t take Daryl long to find Madison, she hadn’t gone far, just far enough to get out of the line of fire. A lump formed in his throat as he watched her shoulders slump as she absent mindedly picked at the dirt under her nails. He could feel the pain and embarrassment radiating off of her and the guilt he felt was tearing him apart; since the day they met keeping her safe was his top priority and he failed her. Daryl cleared his throat to announce his presence, “Y'alright?” Madison couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact with him and kept her head down as she answered him with small nod, hoping that by saying she was fine the subject would be dropped; she had no reason to be, but she was ashamed that Daryl heard Merle’s tirade. As ridiculous as she knew it was, she was afraid he’d start seeing her the way his brother clearly saw her. “Can’t go runnin’ off like that. Ya tryin’ t’get yerself killed?”

“No. I’m sorry; I know it was stupid of me-“

“Didn’t say that, Maddie; but yeah it was.”

“You didn’t have to agree so quickly,” she replied with a humorless chuckle; she knew he was trying to tease her by agreeing with her and she hoped her response came across as the joke she meant it to be. “I just couldn’t stand there and take that any more…I’m sorry. I’m trying with Merle; I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I am.” She paused and glanced at the man standing in front of her again, trying to gauge his response and see if he believed her.

“Stop ‘pologizin’. I know y’are; ‘e don’t make it easy.”

With a heavy sigh she continued, “I just hate seeing how he treats you, I-I think I’m the reason he’s going after you so much...maybe it would’ve been better for you if I hadn’t followed-”

“Stop,” Daryl cut her off, joining her on the fallen tree and resting his hand on her leg. Once again she was hurting and she was more concerned with his welfare than her own; he shook his head, he didn’t deserve her. “Stop. I don’t care what ‘e says ‘bout me, it’s worth it t’have ya back.” Madison gave him a sad smile and covered his hand with her own. Daryl didn’t know what to say to make the situation better and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, “When’d ya eat last?”

Surprised by the sudden change in subject, Madison chuckled, “You know, I’m not sure. Food’s been the last thing on my mind with...everything. I guess before I left on the run with Glenn and Maggie.”

“Here,” he grunted, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the beef stick he found.

“No, I’m not that hungry,” she lied. She hadn’t noticed how hungry she was until Daryl brought it up and now she was acutely aware of her stomach gnawing on itself after nearly forty-eight hours without something to eat, but she didn’t want to take their last morsel of food when they didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. “You should have it; you came all that way to save us, you must be starving.”

“Like y’ain’t?” he scoffed, ripping the plastic off and tearing the beef stick in two, knowing her well enough to know this was the only way to get her to take it, “We’re splittin’ it. No arguin’.” He caught Madison’s eye as he handed her half and added with a lopsided grin, “Yer gettin’ the bigger half, Buster, whether ya like it’r not.”

Madison smiled in spite of herself, accepting the food Daryl offered her and enjoying their respite from Merle. The couple ate in silence; their world had flipped upside down so quickly neither of them knew what to say. Out of habit Madison’s hand slipped into her pocket in search of her phone only to find it empty. She sighed and brushed her bangs back, “Oh yeah. How could I forget?”

“Lose somethin’?” Daryl asked softly, tucking her hair behind her ear so he could see her face better. He still had a nagging feeling that she was holding something back from him and he was wracking his brain trying to figure it out. It wasn’t like Madison to keep him in the dark unless it was something big and that knowledge twisted his stomach in knots. Madison shook her head and her eyes darted to Daryl’s face; he looked beyond exhausted and the concern etched across his face made him look ten years older than he was. She hated seeing him like this. She hated keeping so much from him; she’d hidden the truth from him all winter and it almost killed her, in more ways than one, and her chin started quivering at the prospect of going through that again. “Hey, what’s goin’ on? Talk t’me dammit,” Daryl begged, caressing her back and scanning the woods around them to be certain Merle couldn’t see him being gentle with her.

After collecting herself with a deep breath, she flashed him an unconvincing smile, “Nothing’s going on. I just forgot my phone’s gone, that’s all.”

Daryl could see through the fake smile on her lips, but decided not to call her out on it, not yet anyway. “What happened? D’ya leave it back home-back at the prison?” he corrected himself, forcing himself to detach from the prison and the people they left behind.

“No. They found it when they checked me for weapons back at Woodbury. They pulled up pictures of my family...of Ally...and tried to use them to get me to talk, saying the most degrading things about her…” Madison shook her head, trying to clear the memories from her mind, “When I wouldn’t say where you-where our group was, they broke it.” She gave Daryl a sidelong glance and nudged him with a sad smirk trying to lighten the mood, “I know how much you always hated that stupid thing, at least now you don’t have to put up with it anymore.”

Daryl returned her smile with a sympathetic smile of his own. He knew how much she treasured that last link to her family and the way life used to be and to have it ripped away from her in such a brutal way broke his heart. “Sorry, Buster,” he whispered, not sure of what else to say as he reached up without thinking and lightly touched the right side of her face. Madison winced and pulled away, taking his hand in hers to assure him her reaction had nothing to do with him. “Hurts that bad, huh?”

“Yeah,” she answered with a shrug, meeting his crystal blue eyes, “but I’ll be fine. This isn’t the worst beating I’ve taken. Charles put me in the hospital one time so this is nothing.”

Silence fell between them as Daryl studied her; she’d had more than her fair share of misery in her lifetime even before the world fell apart and now here she was forced to live in the woods with him and his prick of a brother. “Merle’s a jackass. Sorry,” he muttered, pulling his eyes from her and looking at the ground.

Madison’s mouth fell open and she stared at Daryl with wide eyes for a moment before she realized he was talking about what Merle said to her earlier that evening and not that he’d finally pieced together what happened in Woodbury. Composing herself before he turned around and saw her shocked expression, she said quietly, “Nothing for you to be sorry for.” He looked at her and a small, grateful smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, “You stood up for me. I just need to toughen up. It's going to be like this for awhile until we all get used to each other, but it’ll get better. It has to, right?”

Casting a wary glance over his shoulder, Daryl looked for Merle one more time before he wrapped his arms around Madison and drew her to his chest, holding her tightly like he’d wanted to do since he found out she’d been taken the previous day. A sigh escaped Madison’s lips as she melted into his strong arms, enveloped in the comfort they offered her. Daryl tenderly ran his fingers through her hair as he whispered, “I know ‘e crossed the line, ain’t never been able to shut up when ‘e should; but ya gotta know ‘e don’t mean nothin’ by it. Ain’t like ‘e’s gonna do nothin’. Merle’s all talk, ‘e’s harmless.”

Madison’s eyes popped open and she abruptly broke free from Daryl’s embrace. “Harmless?” she echoed, staring at him slack jawed. Confused by her reaction, Daryl reached for her and she slapped his hand away then jumped to her feet; it had taken a day and a half, but she had finally reached her breaking point. “Harmless? Did you-did you see what he did to Glenn? Look at me, Daryl! Look at my face! Look at my wrists! Does it look like he’s harmless to you?” she cried.

It was Daryl’s turn to drop his jaw as he sat and stared at Madison, stunned into silence by her revelation. His mind raced as all the pieces started falling into place. This is what she’d been holding back. This is why she had such animosity for Merle since the moment they left Woodbury. This is why she refused to come with him earlier that morning. “Wait a minute; ya tellin’ me Merle did this t’ya?” he asked, gesturing to Madison’s face; the disillusioned look in his eyes making him look like a child who just found out the truth about Santa Claus.

An all-consuming, irrational panic gripped Madison as Merle’s threat flashed through her mind and she began rambling, tripping over her words in an attempt to explain the whole mess away. “I didn’t want you to find out, not like this! I wasn’t going to say anything...I-I wasn’t supposed to say anything; you’re not supposed to know!”

“Whaddya mean I ain’t supposed t’know?” Daryl growled, slowly rising to his feet and clenching his fists. Madison stammered, trying and failing to form a coherent sentence. Daryl’s face grew harder by the second as rage filled him. “Did ‘e threaten ya?” he asked in a low, gruff whisper, knowing the answer before he asked the question.

Madison helplessly stared back at him, powerless to defuse the situation her lack of filter had created. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t force any words from her lips and she started trembling the more she thought about Merle’s threat and what he’d shown her he was capable of. “Daryl, please don’t say anything,” she finally managed to squeak out, cringing at the fear she heard in her voice. Merle had her terrified just like Charles used to and no matter how safe she felt with Daryl by her side, he couldn't be there to protect her all the time; eventually Merle would have the opportunity to follow through with his threat.

Taking one more look at the frightened woman standing in front of him, Daryl spun around and stormed back to camp with the singular purpose of avenging the woman he loved, the woman he’d failed. “Stop! Daryl, please stop!” she cried after him, her pleading falling on deaf ears. “Nothing you can say or do can change what’s already happened! Please, it’s not worth it!”

“Bullshit!” he shouted as he stopped moving at turned to look at Madison as she caught up to him, her belief that she wasn’t worth standing up for adding fuel to his fire.

“It’s not,” she insisted, holding on to his arm and begging for him to listen to her, “Everything will heal with time. Trust me; soon it’ll be like nothing happened. I’m fine!”

“They hell y’are! Can’t even touch ya without hurtin’ ya ‘cause of that bastard!” Before she had a chance to respond, he ripped his arm from her grasp and stomped back to where he left his brother, tuning out Madison’s continual pleas for him to stop. “Ya good fer nothin’ sack of shit!” Daryl bellowed as he broke through the trees and made a beeline towards Merle.

“There best be a biter b’hind me, Darylina,” Merle warned, standing up and glaring at his little brother, “‘Cause I know y’know better than t’talk like that t’me.”

“Ya beat the livin’ hell outta my girl an’ threaten ‘er t’keep ‘er quiet? Then ya talk t’ ‘er like she’s one of yer skanks from the bar back home fer fun?” Daryl shouted, shoving Merle as hard as he could, “Huh? Y’got somethin’ t’say, ya son of a bitch?”

Merle took a step back, not because he was intimidated by Daryl getting in his face, but because he wanted to buy some time to think of a way to talk himself out of the situation. Daryl had changed while they’d been separated, he’d grown stronger and Merle could see it, but he was convinced that somewhere inside Daryl there was still the little boy that would follow him around and do whatever he said, it was just a matter of digging deep enough. “Take it easy, lil’ brother. Ain’t like tha-”

Before Merle could finish his sentence, Daryl cocked his fist and punched his brother, sending him to the ground. “Jackass,” he muttered as he looked down at Merle sprawled on the forest floor and prepared to hit him again. Desperate to keep Daryl from doing something she knew he’d end up regretting Madison put herself in front of him and tried to catch his eye. Daryl stared down at her with narrowed eyes and growled through clenched teeth, “Move Madison.”

“No. You’ve made your point; now stop,” she begged, pushing against his chest in hopes of making him back away from Merle, “Please, Daryl. For me. Just stop.” 

The anxiety in her eyes stopped Daryl in his tracks for a moment before he started pacing with an aggravated huff; he was furious with Merle and wanted nothing more than to beat him senseless for harming Madison, but he couldn’t ignore a request that sincere from her either. “Why the hell’re ya protectin’ ‘im?” he yelled, frustrated past the point of rational thought. He needed to let his aggression out in some way and he found himself wishing a walker would wander into camp so he could kill something; he instead settled for grabbing his buck knife and forcefully throwing it at a nearby tree, drawing a startled gasp from Madison. 

Merle struggled to his feet and spit out the blood pooling in his mouth, watching through narrowed eyes as Daryl turned away to retrieve his knife. “Worthless lil’ prick,” he snarled as he charged at his little brother while his back was turned.

Movement at the edge of her peripheral vision caught Madison’s attention and she screamed Daryl’s name to warm him that Merle was closing in. Daryl immediately whipped around and threw another punch at his brother, catching him in the jaw. Merle staggered backwards with the force of the blow, but managed to stay on his feet this time. Before Merle had time to recover, Daryl grabbed him by the collar and stared him down, daring him to try anything else. After a moment of tense silence, Daryl finally spoke, his voice a low growl, “Ya touch ‘er again; hell I catch ya s’much as lookin’ at ‘er, I’ll kill ya. Don’t think I won’t.” Daryl held on to his older brother’s collar for a moment longer, throwing daggers at him with his eyes and debating taking another swing at him. 

A small hand landed gently on Daryl’s shoulder, pulling his attention away from his brother long enough throw a sidelong glance to his left; Madison was standing next to him and staring at him with wide, shocked eyes, silently pleading with him to stop. She tentatively placed her hand on his forearm and pushed it down to get him to let go of Merle, she hated seeing this side of him resurfacing and she wanted to contain it as quickly as possible. Daryl released Merle with a shove and angrily shook off Madison’s hands before stomping over to the tree and yanking his knife free and roughly jamming it back into its sheath. He looked over his shoulder at Merle and Madison; Madison was nervously digging the toe of her boot into the dirt and staring at the ground intently while trying to avoid Merle’s loathsome glare. Daryl ran his hand over his face as he took in the scene playing out in front of him, doubting for the first time if they could make this arrangement work.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of the season finale (which I haven't seen yet because I don't have cable in my apartment and frankly I'm afraid to) here's a new chapter! I can't believe it took me two months to get this up! I hope it's worth the wait; life's been crazy with missing out on a promotion and getting a new job with new hours and trying to find time to write with my new schedule, blah blah blah. Funny story, I was supposed to meet Norman Reedus a week ago, but he had to cancel his appearance at the last minute and that actually gave me the push to get this chapter out; I needed my Daryl fix one way or the other! Thanks for all the support and for sticking with me, even during this long stretch between updates. I hope I don't let it get this bad again!

“Wha’did I just say? Get the hell away from ‘er!” Daryl barked at Merle, still seething and longing for Merle to give him a reason to throw another punch.

“Said don’t touch ‘er an’ I ain’t!” Merle growled, taking a threatening step towards his younger brother, “D’I gotta remind ya who yer talkin’ t’, boy?”

Madison watched as the Dixons prepared for round two; desperate to stop the brawl before it began she blurted, “This is a waste of time! It's dangerous enough out here without turning on each other! Nothing has changed from an hour ago. We’re in the exact same situation as we were then; the only difference now is all the cards are on the table.”

Daryl’s eyes flickered from Merle to Madison and back as she spoke; he pulled himself to his full height and stared his brother down. “Ain’t havin’ ya ‘round this asshole fer one more minute. C’mon, we’re leavin’,” he snarled, abruptly turning from Merle and grabbing Madison’s arm, pulling her towards the forest.

“No, we’re not,” she countered, breaking free from his grasp; she wanted nothing more than to leave and not be tied to Merle anymore, but she knew with time the anger Daryl felt towards his brother would fade and if she let him walk away from Merle he would never forgive himself. “You left with him this morning because he’s blood. He’s still your brother.” Daryl stared at her in disbelief; he gestured angrily towards Merle and opened his mouth to argue with her, but she cut him off, “And besides we’re losing the light, we can’t go wandering through the woods in the dark; that would be stupid.” A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she tried to ease the tension with a small joke reminding Daryl that just minutes ago he’d agreed that running off was stupid. When her feeble attempt failed to pull any response from the man in front of her she immediately turned around and knelt down beside the pile of wood that should’ve been a campfire by now, ending her discussion with Daryl. “We really need to get this going. I’ll try it again,” she said to no one in particular. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to work up the self-control to continue acting as the peacemaker between the man she loved and the man she hated, “Merle, hand me that lighter if you’ve still got it.”

“Right here, sweet cheeks,” he mumbled as he pulled the lighter from his pocket and took a step towards her. Daryl planted himself between Merle and Madison and ripped the lighter from his older brother's hand, his cold stare never leaving Merle's face. “Relax, man; the princess here don't need no bodyguard,” Merle chuckled although his eyes were hard and cold as he met his brother's glare.

Madison closed her eyes and groaned, hating herself for not being able to keep it together. If she’d just kept her mouth shut everything would be okay; Merle would still be running his mouth, but at least he and Daryl wouldn’t be at each other’s throats. Months of being with a loving man like Daryl had made her weak in a way; she used to have a much tougher skin and could live with much worse than a few sleazy comments. She’d have to build up her tolerance again like a callous; it would take time, but living with Merle would give her ample opportunity. An impatient nudge pulled her from her thoughts and she took the lighter from Daryl’s outstretched hand then set to work trying to light the fire. Soon, and much to Madison’s surprise and relief, the small campfire roared to life and she gratefully scooted back from the flames and settled in as she tried to decide why the fire lit so easily, eventually concluding that while she and Daryl were away Merle must have gathered dryer wood.

The evening dragged on slowly and uncomfortably; the sun had been down for several hours and no one had uttered a single word in what seemed like an eternity. Madison pulled her eyes away from the trees and glanced to her left to find Daryl still sitting protectively close to her and scowling into the fire like he had been all night, only now the faintest hint of the battle raging within crept to the surface as the fury in his eyes was slowly replaced by pain and confusion. She hated seeing him like this and knowing that she was the reason he was at odds with his brother was gnawing away at her. Her eyes darted across the small campsite to Merle who was watching his little brother closely with a slightly amused, almost cocky expression. With a sigh Madison eased herself onto her back and squeezed her eyes shut hoping to escape the strain of the situation and get a little of the rest she desperately needed.

Merle studied his younger brother and analyzed the slight changes in his expression. He had seen this scenario play out over and over again over the course of Daryl’s life; Merle would cross a line and Daryl would challenge him and fight back, but once the initial anger fueling his urge to stand up to him faded away he would fall back into line as the submissive little brother and would follow Merle around, doing whatever he said. It was just a matter of time now and all Merle had to do was remind Daryl of all he’d done for him and Daryl would be right back where he belonged, trailing behind Merle with his tail between his legs. “So y’were really gonna run off with that bitch an’ leave me b’hind, huh? That who y’are now, lil’ brother? That what she’s made ya? A spineless pussy that picks an easy lay over blood?” Merle asked, breaking the silence and laughing quietly to himself when Daryl glared at him, silently warning him to stop talking, but not saying or doing anything beyond that. Knowing he was getting into his little brother’s head, Merle continued, “This the thanks I get fer watchin’ out fer yer worthless ass when we was kids? Pathetic.”

Daryl did his best to hide how deeply Merle’s words were affecting him and he looked back to the fire without a word. He stole a quick glance at the woman lying next to him and took a deep breath; there was no denying she had changed him, for the better he’d thought, that is until Merle started running his mouth and now Daryl wondered if he was lying to himself and Madison by thinking he’d ever be more than the piece of redneck trash he was raised to be. He loved Madison more than he ever thought possible; it nearly killed him when she stayed with the group earlier that morning and he was elated when she broke through the trees and found them, but in light of what Merle had done to her and who Daryl could feel himself becoming again he couldn’t help but ask himself if she’d made the wrong choice by following him and if it would be better for her in the long run if he pushed her back to the others. He studied his hands and sighed; there was no question getting her away from Merle was the best thing for her, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t push her away any more now than he could when he first met her. It wasn’t fair to her, it was selfish, but he couldn’t lose her. Not again. He’d just have to fight tooth and nail to keep his head above water and not sink into old habits with Merle around. He’d do his best, for her he’d give it his all, he just wasn’t sure that he’d succeed.

As soon as the first pale rays of morning broke through the trees the small group of three was up and moving, wandering aimlessly through the forest with Merle in the lead as they looked for game. Madison begrudgingly followed the older Dixon, all the while the need for a plan gnawed at her; Merle and his haphazard survival tactic was going to get them all killed. They needed to be able to keep track of where they’d been, where was safe, and, most importantly, where was dangerous. After hours of randomly picking their way through the trees Madison looked over her shoulder in hopes of catching Daryl’s attention so she could voice her concerns, but he avoided her gaze. She heaved a sigh and faced forward once again, chewing her bottom lip as she tried to figure out why he was avoiding her; something must have happened after she’d fallen asleep, that was all that made sense. Merle must have said something and it was eating at Daryl.

Her train of thought quickly derailed when she heard some twigs snap to her left. She stopped short and whipped her head around in hopes of seeing a deer or a rabbit, but instead her eyes fell on a walker that had managed to get itself tangled in a mess of low branches and underbrush. Madison threw her head back in frustration and threw an angry glare at Merle’s back, irritated that he’d walked by without doing anything about it; while it was true that it wasn’t posing an immediate threat eventually it would get free and if they were going to be living in these woods for the foreseeable future they couldn’t afford to let any of these things live. She grabbed her pocket knife and flipped it open and easily took care of the walker. She paused for a moment to clean off the blade on the walker’s shirt before tucking the knife back in her jeans and glanced behind her to see how far behind the Dixons she’d fallen; a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth when she saw Daryl standing close by with his bow aimed at the walker’s head, ready to protect her if the monster had broken loose. As Madison fell back in line behind Merle she gave Daryl a quick nod, silently thanking him and acknowledging what he did for her. Daryl grunted and gave her a sharp nod in return before his eyes fell to the ground and he started walking behind her.

Once again Madison’s mind wandered as she looked through the trees for any sign of wildlife or danger. Paying more attention to what was around her than what was in front of her, Madison didn’t notice Merle come to an abrupt stop before she bumped into his elbow. “Sorry,” she muttered. It took a second for the unmistakable sounds of a zipper coming undone and a stream of water hitting the ground to register before she realized she’d run into him while he was taking a leak. Embarrassed, she spun around and held her hand up to the side of her face like a shield. “A little warning before you just whip that out would be nice!” she sputtered.

“Calm down, princess,” Merle chuckled, smirking to himself at her reaction, “Ain’t like ya’ve never seen one b’fore.”

“Pig,” she grumbled in response as she walked away and leaned against a tree with her back to Merle, hiding her face in her hands wishing away the burning in her cheeks. She looked up when she heard Daryl come to a stop and join her next to the tree. His eyes darted to her face as he mumbled a hushed apology for his brother before his gaze fell to the ground, the bruises coloring her face a constant and painful reminder of how he'd failed her. Madison watched him as he glanced over his shoulder at Merle, nibbling on his thumb and clearly debating calling Merle out on his actions. “Hey,” she whispered to the man standing next to her as she nudged his arm gently; she recognized the impossible situation she'd put him in by following him and she wanted to do whatever she could to make this arrangement as easy as possible on him. When Daryl finally pulled his eyes off his brother and looked at her she continued with a small smile, “Don't worry about it, okay? It's not a big deal.” Daryl dismissed her comment with a huff and glanced back at Merle. “I haven't seen any tracks for a while,” Madison blurted, saying the first thing that came to her mind in hopes of distracting Daryl enough that, for both their sakes, he wouldn't confront Merle again. “Am I really that bad this or...”

“Nah, that ain't it,” Daryl answered looking forward and scanning the surrounding trees, silently grateful for Madison and her subtle way of protecting him from himself, “Jus’ that there ain't nothin’ out ‘ere but mosquitoes an’ ants.”

“Patience lil’ brother. Sooner’r later, a squirrel’s bound t’scurry ‘cross yer path,” Merle called out over his shoulder, forcing himself into Daryl and Madison's conversation.

Daryl gave Madison a sidelong glance; the need to provide for her overshadowing his own hunger and becoming the driving force behind his need to find something for the group to eat. “Even so that ain't much food,” he scoffed.

“Better than nothin’,” Merle countered.

“I’d have better luck goin’ through one of them houses we passed back on the turnoff.” Daryl looked at Madison and lowered his voice as he asked, “Whaddya think?”

She ran her hand through hair as she tried to visualize the houses Daryl was talking about, “It’s worth a try I guess, but didn't we clear them out over the winter? They looked a little familiar-”

“Is that what yer new friends taught ya? Hmm?” Merle asked Daryl as he did up his fly and turned towards the pair leaning against the tree, cutting Madison off, “How t’loot fer booty?”

Madison shook her head and let out a quiet, irritated laugh, “You’re unbelievable. For having such a problem with scavenging for supplies you sure grabbed that can of soup for yourself pretty quickly last night. Does it really matter where the food comes from if it keeps us alive?”

“She’s got a point, bro. We ain’t findin’ nothin’ an’ we’ve been at it fer hours,” Daryl muttered before Merle could pounce on Madison again. Anxiously fidgeting with his crossbow and taking aim at nothing he hastily made a suggestion he hoped would be more to his brother’s liking, “Why don’t we find a stream, try t’look fer some fish?”

“I think yer jus’ tryin’ t’lead me back t’the road, man. Get me over t’that prison,” Merle countered as he examined the ground closer, hoping to find some tracks and pull one over on Daryl.

“They got shelter. Food. A pot t’piss in,” Daryl added to his list of arguments with a scathing look at his older brother, his small way of letting Merle know to stop messing with Madison, “Might not be a bad idea,” he finished, quite pleased with himself for making what was, in his mind, a very compelling argument.

Merle shook his head and glanced at his brother and the redhead standing faithfully by his side, “Fer y’two maybe. Ain’t gonna be no damn party fer me.”

“E’eryone’ll get used t’each other,” Daryl said as he raised his bow yet again, even though there wasn’t a target in sight, hoping that he could hide how much he wanted to rejoin the others by acting nonchalant.

A brief, tense silence took over as Daryl’s suggestion hung in the air. “No one will be thrilled with it, but we can make it work,” Madison added quietly, catching Merle’s gaze, “You don’t want to admit it, but you know we could. I mean if you and I haven’t killed each other by now-”

“They’re all dead,” Merle tersely cut Madison off as he rose to his feet, “Makes no difference.”

Daryl struggled to keep his face neutral and mask the fear Merle’s words brought to the surface; he knew the group was in danger, but he wanted to believe that they were all right. Casting a sidelong glance at Madison, Daryl watched her squeeze her eyes shut and shake her head as she tried to block out what Merle was saying. “How can ya be so sure?” Daryl asked weakly, his voice betraying his concern for their friends.

“Right ‘bout now ‘e’s prob’ly hostin’ a houswarmin’ party where ‘e’s gonna bury what’s left of yer pals,” Merle answered, studying his little brother’s face; while he wanted to tear Daryl down far enough to get him to fall back in line behind him, Merle took no pleasure in the pain behind Daryl’s eyes and he came to terms with the deaths of the people he left behind. Deciding they’d stayed in one place long enough Merle abruptly changed the subject, spitting on the ground before speaking as he started walking away, “Let’s hook some fish. C’mon.”

Daryl and Madison stood frozen where they stood for a moment as Merle’s words sunk in. Madison took a deep breath and murmured, “He’s wrong.” She turned to face Daryl and began to reach for him, but stopped herself and looked over her shoulder to make sure Merle wasn’t watching, wanting to be as discreet as possible for Daryl’s sake. “Don’t listen to him,” she whispered when she saw the coast was clear and she gently placed her hand against Daryl’s cheek. “Everyone’s fine. Rick and Glenn...they’re smart. They know how to survive; they’ll come up with a plan. No one’s going to die.”

There was a hardness in Daryl's eyes as he stared at her that she hadn't seen in months and she slowly lowered her hand and rubbed his arm, trying to do what little she could to comfort him. “That's bullshit an’ ya know it!” he snapped, pulling away from her touch. Madison took a startled step back at his outburst and her eyes fell to the ground. Guilt immediately filled Daryl when he saw her reaction, but rather than deal with it he followed Merle's lead and spit on the ground near her feet before pushing past her and trailing after Merle, hating himself with every step for letting himself become a good for nothing redneck ass again. Madison followed the brothers with her eyes for a moment before taking a deep, shaky breath and slowly trudging along behind them.

As the group made their way through the forest in search of a stream the trees began to thin out enough that they didn’t have to travel in a single file any longer. Daryl glanced behind him and saw the concerned scowl on Madison’s face as she trailed behind him. He came to a stop and waited for her to catch up to him, falling into step beside her and brushing her hand gently to get her to look at him. She’d given up everything to be with him, he had to try and make amends; he owed her that much. “We’re gettin’ close t’the Yellow Jacket; we'll take a lil’ breather, get us some food an’ some water. I'll pull m’head outta m’ass an’ try t’stop actin’ like such a dick.” The quiet giggle that escaped Madison's mouth took Daryl by surprise and the corner of his mouth turned up in a small, half smile. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it quickly, drawing a relieved sigh from Daryl as she silently accepted his apology.

“And then what?” Madison asked softly, hesitantly, as she let go of his hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. She watched him out of the corner of her eye before continuing, scared of saying the wrong thing and setting him off; the need to vocalize her concerns quickly won out and she added, “We need a plan. We can't keep wandering around like this; we’ll die.”

“Y’honestly think I don’t know that, Maddie?”

“Then do something!”

Daryl came to an abrupt stop and caught Madison by the arm and pulled her closer to him. “Like what?” he demanded, anger and frustration clouding his eyes, “What the hell d’ya want me t’do? Huh?”

“Stop snapping at me, Daryl!” she shot back, defiantly meeting his stare, “You know Merle won’t listen if I bring it up; you’ve got to be the one to say something.”

“An’ what makes ya think ‘e’ll listen t’me?”

“Look, I’m trying here, okay? But I can’t just sit back and watch your brother get us killed; how can you?”

“Ya think that’s what I’m doin’?” Daryl growled, still holding her arm tightly as he brought his face closer to hers, staring her down. As he waited for Madison’s answer his eyes locked with hers and he noticed that she never flinched or shied away from him. The beating Merle gave her two days ago was bad enough it should’ve triggered all her old reflexes from her life with Charles, but even though he was coming unhinged right in front of her he could see in her eyes that she still trusted him completely. Desperately wanting to keep that trust intact, Daryl released her and stepped back, “Merle ain’t never listened t’me ‘is whole life; why would ‘e start now?”

Madison gave him a small smile and answered him in a gentler tone, forcing her temper in check just like he had, “He took your fishing suggestion, didn’t he? People change. You’ve changed since this all started; I’ve changed. Maybe he has too.” Daryl threw a skeptical glance at her and scoffed, but she continued, ignoring his protests, “I think he just wants to know he still has his brother.”

Before Daryl could respond, Merle shouted at them, “Quit fallin’ b’hind, princess; don’t go an’ get Daryl killed ‘cause y’can’t keep up.”

“I can keep up just fine; stop assuming I’m the weak link here!”

“We were jus’ tryin’ t’figure out what t’do after we get t’the Yellow Jacket,” Daryl added, deciding to try and breach the subject of making some semblance of a plan.

“Yellow Jacket? Who the hell said anythin’ ‘bout the Yellow Jacket?”

Madison looked at Merle as she answered, folding her arms and nodding towards Daryl, “He did. He said that’s where we’re heading and we’re getting close.”

“Well I dunno how t’tell ya this, darlin’, but ‘e’s wrong.” Merle laughed and started walking again as Madison and Daryl scrambled to catch up, “We’re close t’water, but it smells t’me like the Sawhatchee Creek.”

“We didn’t go west ‘nough,” Daryl countered, walking alongside his older brother while Madison fell back a few steps to give them their space so they could, hopefully, work out some of their problems, “There’s a river down there, it’s gotta be the Yellow Jacket.”

Merle scoffed, “Ya have a stroke, boy? We ain’t never even come close t’Yellow Jacket.”

Daryl shook his head and huffed, “We didn’t go west. Just a lil’ bit south. That’s what I think.”

“Know what I think?” Merle asked, taunting his younger brother, “I may’ve lost m’hand, but ya lost yer sense of direction.”

Madison bit her lip to keep herself from butting in, she knew she had to stop jumping in and defending Daryl against Merle, but she was running out of patience with him. The only thing keeping her mouth shut at the moment was remembering how upset Daryl had gotten the last time she stood up for him; she knew she had to pick her battles and this wasn’t the right one.

“Yeah, we’ll see,” Daryl mumbled to Merle, not wanting to concede, but wanting the subject dropped.

“Whaddya wanna bet?” Merle asked, glancing at Daryl, his eyes gleaming at the chance to prove him wrong. “A night with yer red devil back there?” he asked, looking over his shoulder and winking at Madison.

“You’re delusional if you really think that’s going to happen,” she replied flatly.

“Don’t wanna bet nothin’,” Daryl grumbled, hoping that by ignoring Merle’s clumsy advance on Madison he would stop before taking it too far like he had last night. “It’s jus’ a body of water,” he added, shooting an irritated glare at Merle, “Why’s e’erythin’ gotta be a competition with ya?”

Merle rolled his eyes, “Whoa, whoa. Take it easy, lil’ brother. Jus’ tryin’ t’have a lil’ fun ‘ere. No need t’get yer panties all in a bundle.”

Daryl came to an abrupt stop and narrowed his eyes as he slowly looked through the trees surrounding them. “What is it?” Madison whispered, reaching for her small pocket knife and suddenly feeling severely under-armed as she anxiously tried to see what had Daryl on high alert.

“Y’hear that?” Daryl asked, straining to determine where the muffled crying he heard was coming from and slowly moving forward.

“Yeah,” Merle answered, stopping and actually taking a moment to listen, “Wild animals gettin’ wild.”

“Nah, it’s a baby,” Daryl replied. For a brief moment he entertained the notion that the crying infant was Rick’s daughter, that the group left the prison before the Governor could reach them and by some miracle they’d managed to cross paths with them. He shook his head to clear the fantasy from his mind; the chances of that happening were nonexistent It was time for him to grow up and face facts; Merle was right and everyone he knew, everyone he cared about with the exception of Madison, was dead. The baby’s continual cries stirred something deep within him and he was consumed by the need to find this baby; it wasn’t Lil’ Asskicker, but it was still a baby in desperate need of help and he couldn’t walk away.

“I can’t tell where it’s coming from,” Madison said in an aggravated huff, just as eager to find the poor child as Daryl, “How did a baby get clear out here? We haven’t seen anyone and it’s not like it could’ve crawled away from those houses we passed.”

Merle looked back and forth between Daryl and Madison with a look of exasperation on his face, “Oh c’mon! Why don’t ya jus’ piss in my ear an’ tell me it’s rainin’ too? That there’s the sound of a couple of coons makin’ love, sweet love.” Madison could feel Merle’s eyes on her again and, against her better judgment, she glanced in his direction to find him smirking at her and gyrating his hips, “Know what I mean?”

“I always know what you mean, Merle,” she groaned as she pushed past him trying to find where the cries were coming from, “You aren't exactly subtle.”

Daryl threw an unamused, sidelong glance at his brother as he moved forward, “Knock it off; ain’t tellin’ ya again.” Ignoring Merle’s proud laughter, Daryl caught up to Madison and followed the cries as they got louder. Soon the unmistakable sound of growling walkers joined the wailing infant and Daryl picked up speed, racing through the trees with Madison hot on his heels and Merle ambling slowly behind them. Daryl only came to a stop when he came to a riverbank; with nowhere else to go he looked to his right when he heard someone yelling in Spanish. “Well shit,” he mumbled when Madison joined him. She followed his gaze to a nearby bridge and her hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. Two men were trapped on the bed of an abandoned truck fighting off several walkers; she couldn’t tell from so far away, but her best guess was that there were close to a dozen walkers on the bridge with them and more on the way.

A sharp whistle momentarily drew Daryl and Madison’s attention away from the swarm on the bridge. “Hey! Jump!” Merle shouted, laughing and looking at Daryl expectantly as though he thought Daryl would join in at any moment. Instead, Daryl threw a disgusted look at his older brother and raced towards the bridge, deciding against wasting any more time arguing. Madison shot an icy glare at Merle as she shoved her knife back in her pocket and drew her gun before chasing after Daryl. “What?” Merle called after the couple as he reluctantly followed them, “Hey, man. I ain’t wastin’ my bullets on a couple of strangers that ain’t never cooked me a meal or felicitated my piece.”

“You’re a real class act. You know that, right?” Madison tossed over her shoulder, unable to hide the disdain in her voice.

“Y’ain’t gotta like it, princess, but that’s my policy. An’ ya’d be wise t’adopt it, brother!”

Daryl tuned Merle out as he scrambled up the steep hill leading to the bridge. His mind raced as he tried to figure out their plan of attack; the baby’s relentless crying tugged at his heart, but he knew the men on the truck were in more danger. As they reached the bridge he saw several walkers clawing at a red hatchback. A woman’s frightened screams came from inside the car and Daryl caught a glimpse of a mother clinging to her baby in the front seat and he felt a knot in the pit of his stomach; they weren’t in any better shape than the men on the truck bed.  “Guys on the truck first then we clear the car,” he told Madison, taking stalk of their situation. “We need all the help we can get,” he added as he fired a bolt into the brain of walker moments away from biting one of the men on the truck. The bolt gave away their position and drew a few walkers away from the two stranded men and towards Daryl and Madison. “Dammit,” Daryl muttered under his breath as he quickly dropped his backpack and reloaded his bow, taking several deep breaths to steady himself.

With a shaky breath Madison raised her gun and shot the closest walker and then another and then another. She looked in front of them; there were too many of those things, she’d use every bullet she had if she kept shooting. She pulled out her knife; it felt so small and flimsy in her hand as she flipped the blade out of the handle, but it was her best option. She lunged forward and focused all of her energy and attention on killing the surrounding monsters. She was barely aware of Daryl shouting at her to stay behind him as she threw herself at a walker, using her momentum to drive her knife deep enough to kill it, so forcefully that she knocked it off its feet and fell on top of it.  

Daryl pulled Madison to her feet and she instinctively swung around so they were back to back as they took out the walkers one by one. Daryl’s eye’s flashed to the men on the truck, frozen in place as they watched in awe as he and Madison fought. “C’mon man! We’re tryin’ t’help ya out! Cover us!” Daryl yelled, bringing the older of the two men to his senses. He immediately jumped down, retrieved his gun, and joined the fray. Confident that this stranger had their backs, Daryl whistled to Madison and nodded towards the hatchback then broke formation and began clearing the car, seizing the opportunity to finally make sure the baby was safe.

Madison glanced at the car and did a quick head count of the walkers surrounding it; once she was convinced that Daryl could handle it on his own she turned her focus back to taking out any and all walkers she could. As her eyes danced around the bridge looking for her next target she saw Merle standing off to the side, gun in hand, watching his younger brother fight the dead. “Don’t just stand there! Merle!” she screamed, her blood boiling. Merle was true to his word, she had to give him that, he wasn’t about to waste a single bullet on a group of strangers, even if that meant putting his little brother in harm’s way. “Help him!”

Even without Merle’s help the horde on the bridge was quickly dwindling and becoming more manageable by the second. A loud thud came from the hatchback and Madison spun around worried that something had happened to Daryl. He emerged from behind the car, crossbow in hand, and Madison heaved a sigh of relief; his hands were covered in blood, but beyond that he seemed fine. One walker was slowly limping towards him, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle and Madison focused on the last monster in front of her until she heard Merle shout, “Daryl! I got ya!” A single gunshot sounded and she glanced back to the car in disbelief; one walker. Merle shot one walker, one that didn’t even pose a threat, just so he could say he helped. Merle saw her dumbstruck face and smirked. “Go!” he called to his little brother, his eyes never leaving hers as he silently challenged her to call him out.

After Merle cleared his path unnecessarily Daryl ran to those still fighting, yanking a bolt from a walker’s head along the way. He came to stop by the man they were trying to save who was yelling in Spanish in a long, constant stream. “Speak English,” Daryl groaned as he bent down to load the bolt into his crossbow.

“No entiendo,” the man shot back, glancing in Daryl’s direction with a look of frustration.

“He doesn’t understand you,” Madison pointed out in a low voice. Daryl grunted at her; she didn’t wait for any more of a response and spun around, throwing her knife at one of the last remaining monsters on the bridge as it slowly ambled towards Merle. She jogged over to the fallen walker and retrieved her knife all the while thinking that all her problems would’ve been solved had she simply let the walker get Merle. ‘At the very least it would’ve forced him to do something,’ she thought, shooting a withering glare at him as he sat on the side of the bridge and watched the stranger they were trying to help fight off a walker by punching it in the gut.

“Juan Carlos over there don’t know ‘nough t’go fer the head,” Merle chuckled. Madison tightened her grip on her knife and dashed across the bridge to help the man before it was too late.

“Don’t,” Daryl said as she ran in front of the car and past him, bringing her to a stop, “I got ‘im.” As he spoke he drew his hunting knife then charged the walker, driving the entire blade into its head. Once he pulled his knife free, Daryl kicked the walker as hard as he could, sending it over the guardrail and down into the water below. He leaned over the rail and watched the walker fall then stood straight and looked at the man standing next to him. He wasn’t sure what to say or do; he knew this man wouldn’t understand a word he said, so why bother? Without a word, Daryl gave him a barely noticeable nod and walked away, heading straight for Madison who was still standing by the hood of the car. “Ya good? Maddie?” he asked, but she didn’t respond; she was so focused on making sure there were no other walkers that she was oblivious to Daryl’s presence until he placed his hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. She jumped and whipped her head around to face him. His blue eyes stared at her intently beneath his furrowed brow as he studied her, looking for any new injuries, “I said, ‘ya good?’”

After an intense battle like this she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him tightly, but she refrained and settled for lightly resting her hand on his forearm. “Yeah,” she answered with a nod, “Yeah, I’m fine. You?” Daryl nodded and gave her a small smile as his hand traveled from her shoulder, up the side of her neck, and came to rest as he cupped her cheek and lovingly ran his thumb over her cheekbone. Madison closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, savoring the feeling of having him close, even in such a small way. Was this going to be their life now? Waiting for stolen moments like this to be near each other and never being able to fully let their guard down knowing that Merle was always watching and waiting for the opportunity to degrade Daryl because of his feelings for Madison?

Angry shouting in Spanish shattered the peaceful bubble that had momentarily encircled Daryl and Madison and they turned around to see Merle standing by the hatchback’s open back driver’s side door with the woman and baby still inside. “Slow down, beaner,” he drawled, pointing his gun at the man who had been fighting alongside them and the younger man who had finally come down from the safety of the truck, “That ain’t no way t’say thank you.”

“Merle! What’re you doing?” Madison gasped, too stunned to move.

Daryl held his hand up to her and slowly started walking around the passenger side of the car, grabbing his crossbow off the ground as he moved, glaring at his older brother. He’d been angrier with Merle in the past twenty-four hours than he could ever remember being, but right now was the first time, possibly ever, that he was ashamed to be Merle’s family. “Let ‘em go.”

Without taking his eyes off the two men in front of him, Merle tucked his gun into his waistband with a sickening smirk, “Least they could do is give us an enchilada’r somethin’, huh?” He then bent down and climbed halfway into the back seat of the car, scouring through the few possessions this family had, “Easy does it, senorita. E’erythin’s gonna be fine.”

The two men Merle pointed his gun at watched him as he rummaged through their car, tensing with every noise he made; their eyes darted to Daryl as he walked around the back of the hatchback. Madison held her breath as she noticed the anxious way the older of the two men held his knife and the way the younger man shifted his weight from foot to foot as he inched forward. The situation was about to dissolve; Madison knew they were in danger of being attacked because of Merle. She wracked her brain, trying to remember anything useful from the year of Spanish she took in high school, anything at all to try and defuse the tension. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, catching the two men’s attention. Hoping to keep their eyes on her so she could calm them down she kept talking, not sure what to say, “I’m sorry...um...lo-lo siento? Si? Lo siento, I’m sorry? Lo siento por el. Por favor, lo siento.” Madison’s apology in broken Spanish seemed to do the trick for the time being; although the older man still watched Merle intently.

Daryl watched the two men as he made his way towards Merle. He knew Merle was in the wrong and had to be stopped, but he wasn’t sure how. He looked down at the bow in his hands and sighed; it was the only way he could get his older brother to listen to him and he knew the fallout would be bad, for both him and for Madison, but it had to be done. He raised his loaded crossbow, poked Merle in the back with it, and said in a low, rough tone, “Get outta the car.”

“I know yer not talkin’ t’me, brother,” Merle said over his shoulder, pausing when he felt Daryl’s bow against his back and then continuing looking for whatever he could take from the car.

Frustrated by his brother’s persistence, Daryl realized the only way to get him to stop was to get them and their car out of Merle’s reach. He kept his bow fixed on Merle and looked over his shoulder at the two men watching him, “Get in yer car an’ get the hell outta here.” They stood still and stared at Daryl for a moment. Desperate to get them off the bridge he yelled, “Go! Get in yer car!” Daryl turned his attention back on Merle as he straightened himself and got out of the car while the other two men scrambled inside.

The way Merle glared at his little brother sent a chill down Madison’s spine; she’d never seen so much hatred in a man’s eyes before. Daryl didn’t back down and kept his bow raised, meeting Merle’s frigid stare with an unforgiving glare of his own until the family drove away. Daryl didn’t lower his bow, even after the car was out of sight and Merle reached up and tried to knock it out of his face, but Daryl moved it before he could make contact. Merle tried to hit it a few more times as Daryl kept moving it away from his hand. Finally Daryl had had enough of his brother’s childish game and lifted his bow above his head as he turned from his older brother and stormed off, gathering the backpack he dropped earlier and his bolts as he walked back towards the forest.

“Daryl…” Madison whispered as she caught hold of his wrist as he stormed past her. He stood still long enough to glare down at her hand before he shook her off him and looked forward again as he left, eyes burning with indescribable anger and frustration. It took every ounce of self-control Madison had to keep herself from chasing after him, but as much as she wanted to be there for him, she knew the best thing she could do right now was give him his space; he’d come to her when and if he needed her. She closed her eyes and wearily rubbed her temples; she felt useless and trapped and she hated it.

After a few minutes passed she opened her eyes and watched anxiously as Merle paced back and forth on the bridge, kicking the debris in his path and muttering to himself about needing to teach his pain-in-the-ass little brother a lesson. He came to an abrupt stop and glared at Madison, not liking the judgmental way she was looking at him, “Ya got somethin’ ya wanna say t’me?” She scoffed and shook her head as she leaned against one of the abandoned cars left on the bridge, turning away from him and folding her arms; she didn’t trust herself to not say something stupid after they were nearly attacked because of his greed. “Didn’t think so,” he added, staring off in the distance after Daryl, “This ain’t over.”

Madison saw the determination behind Merle’s expression as he took off after his younger brother and she immediately knew whatever he was going to do, it wasn’t going to help matters. “Hey!” she shouted, jumping in front of him and shoving him backwards as hard as she could, “Hey! Not now! Just back off!” She looked over her shoulder into the woods and then back to Merle, shaking her head at him, “Haven’t you done enough? Just leave him alone.” A stunned expression covered his face and disappeared as quickly as it appeared and was replaced by a furious scowl; Merle was not pleased to have a woman telling him was to do and he was going to make sure she knew it. Madison spun around and jogged after Daryl, blocking out the steady stream of insults Merle hurled at her as she left; she knew Daryl would be less than thrilled to see her right now, but a pissed off Daryl was a better alternative than being stuck with Merle and his endless tirades.

It didn’t take Madison long to find Daryl; all she had to do was follow his irritated ranting as he fought a one sided argument with his big brother. Madison shook her head and an amused smile covered her face, the two Dixons were as different as night and day, but there was no denying they were brothers. As she got closer to him she purposely stepped on as many twigs and leaves on the ground as she could to announce her presence; she wasn’t sure why she thought this was better than calling after him, but she’d made up her mind and she was sticking with it.

Daryl listened to the footsteps behind him and threw his head back in frustration and groaned; they were too deliberate to belong to a walker and there was only one person who would follow him when he was like this. “What the hell’re ya doin’ ‘ere, Madison?” he barked, not even bothering to confirm his suspicions.

“How did you know it was-never mind. I couldn’t take any more of your brother,” she explained as she struggled to keep up with Daryl, “And pissed off Daryl trumps pissed off Merle.” He rolled his eyes and kept walking. It would be a cold day in hell before he admitted it to anyone, even the woman trailing behind him, but he was grateful she followed him; be that as it may, he was still too worked up to do anything besides move and the couple made their way through the forest in a tense silence. The quiet hanging between them quickly became too much for Madison to handle and she cleared her throat before asking quietly, “Did you notice the sign on the bridge back there?” Daryl’s face scrunched up at her pointless question and he shot her an exasperated sidelong glance; she’d rather be with him than stuck with his brother, that’s fine, but he was in no mood for mindless small talk. She had to know that, why was she asking him such a stupid question? “Anyway,” Madison continued, determined to make her point, “before you bite my head off, it said Yellow Jacket Creek.” Her brown eyes darted to Daryl’s face; surprised to find him already looking at her and she tucked her hair behind her ear with a smile, “I just wanted you to know you were right all along, that’s all.” Daryl didn’t know what to say, but knowing he was right meant the world to him right now. All he could do was grunt and give Madison a sharp nod to acknowledge her comment. Daryl slowed down so that Madison didn’t have to struggle to keep up with him, in a sense giving her permission to stick around, and they continued in silence. Madison chewed on her bottom lip as she debated saying the other thing on her mind. Risking another quick look at his face she decided to bite the bullet and say what she wanted to say; he was already in a horrible mood so it couldn’t hurt anything. “You didn’t have to do that, helping them I mean,” she whispered, “I’m proud of you, Daryl.”

Daryl paused for a moment and Madison braced herself for an outburst. A small, self-satisfied smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. For the past day and a half he had been so concerned that he was slipping back into old habits, it was a relief to know that Madison still saw some good in him. He reached out to her and took her small hand in his, pulling her forward and matching her stride, “Helpin’ strangers has worked out pretty good fer me b’fore.” Daryl let out a soft, throaty chuckle as he watched Madison’s cheeks turn bright red. She quickly looked away and smiled to herself; she had no idea why she was blushing, but for the first time since leaving the group she knew they would be all right.

“The shit ya doin’ pointin’ that thing at me?” Merle shouted as he burst through the trees and caught up with Madison and Daryl.

The smiles on both of their faces disappeared as soon as they heard Merle’s voice and Madison reluctantly relaxed her hold on Daryl’s hand, knowing he’d pull away now that Merle was around. Her eyes went wide when, instead of dropping her hand like she expected, Daryl tightened his grip on her. He was fed up with Merle’s bullying and degrading comments; after the incident on the bridge Daryl didn’t care what Merle thought anymore. He loved Madison and was tired of hiding it; she wasn’t going anywhere so Merle would just have to get used to it. Without stopping or even glancing back at his brother Daryl groaned, “They were scared, man.”

“They were rude is what they were,” Merle argued, “Rude an’ they owed us a token of gratitude.”

“I’m sorry; us?” Madison threw at Merle, spinning around and ignoring Daryl gently tugging on her arm to keep her moving forward, “There is no us, Merle! There’s me and Daryl! We risked our lives fighting while you sat on your-”

“That’s ‘nough, Buster; keep walkin’,” Daryl said firmly, cutting Madison off and saving her from herself. “They didn’t owe us nothin’,” he added to his brother as they started walking again.

Refusing to give up in starting a fight with Daryl, Merle continued, “Ya helpin’ people out of the goodness of yer heart? Even though y’might die doin’ it? Is that somethin’ yer Sheriff Rick taught ya?”

Merle struck a nerve, just like he was hoping, and Daryl dropped Madison’s hand and turned around yelling at his older brother, “There was a baby!”

“Oh, otherwise ya woulda left ‘em t’the biters, then?”

There was something behind Merle’s livid expression that caught Daryl off guard; pain. Finally it made sense why Merle was so upset that Daryl stuck his neck out for a group of strangers; he was still holding a grudge about being left behind in Atlanta. “Man, I went back fer ya. Y’weren’t there,” Daryl yelled, gesturing angrily with the bolt in his now free hand; he wasn’t going to take the blame for Merle losing his hand, Merle had no one to blame for that but himself. “I didn’t cut off yer hand neither! Y’did that; way b’fore they locked ya up on that roof! Y’asked fer it!”

“Y’know-y’know what’s funny t’me? Hmm?” Merle asked through a dark chuckle as he paced before stopping in front of Daryl and looking him in the eye. “Y’an’ Sheriff Rick’re like this now, right?” he continued, crossing the fingers on his remaining hand to illustrate his point and raising them in front of his younger brother’s face. Daryl shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he eyed his brother apprehensively, unsure of where Merle was going with this new train of thought. “Hmm? I bet ya a penny an’ a fiddle of gold that ya never told ‘im that we were planning on robbin’ that camp blind.”

A small gasp slipped out of Madison’s mouth as a pang of disappointment gripped her chest; she knew Daryl hadn’t always been an upstanding man, but she never pictured him as a thief. She watched him carefully as the color drained from his face and she knew he wasn’t that person anymore and he was ashamed of who he was before. She forced herself not to react further, feeling Daryl’s eyes on her and knowing it would kill him if he saw her momentarily doubting him.

Daryl’s felt his world come to a screeching halt and his eyes instinctively flickered to Madison to gauge her reaction to this damning revelation. Her face was eerily calm and her carefully composed mask unnerved him. His heart sank as he tried to read her face, worrying that this was the fatal blow that would bring her to her senses and make her leave him for good. He tore his eyes away from Madison and shot an icy glare at the man in front of him then looked back to Madison. “It didn’t happen,” he told her, his blue eyes searching hers and begging her to believe him.

“I know,” she replied softly with a sympathetic nod, grateful to see a fraction of the tension leave Daryl’s face.

“Yeah, it didn’t ‘cause I wasn’t there t’help ya,” Merle sneered, determined to win the argument and remind Daryl and Madison who he really was.

“What? Like when we were kids?” Daryl shot back, raising his voice and getting in Merle’s face, “Huh? Who left who then?”

“What? Huh? Is that why I lost m’hand?”

“Ya lost yer hand ‘cause yer a simpleminded piece of shit!” Daryl bellowed, pushing past his brother; it always came back to Atlanta and he couldn’t take it anymore.

Merle was still seething and in his mind this fight was far from over. “Yeah? Y’don’t know!” he grunted as he grabbed the back of Daryl’s shirt and yanked him back to stop him from getting away. The sudden resistance caught Daryl off guard and he lost his footing then fell to the ground, the force of the fall ripping his shirt still clutched in Merle’s hand and exposing the scars covering his back.

“Daryl!” Madison cried, pushing Merle out of her way and running to Daryl’s side. “A-are you okay?” she asked quietly without thinking as she tried to help him up.

Daryl roughly knocked Madison’s hands away from him, rejecting her help and she stepped back respecting his wishes, her hands covering her mouth in horror. She watched, heartbroken, as he futilely tried to pull up his tattered shirt before accepting that there was no point in trying to hide his back anymore. The humiliation on his face cut Madison into pieces and there was nothing she could do to help him as she watched him desperately cling to his dignity and fight to pull himself together.

“I-I didn’t know ‘e was…” Merle stammered, staring at Daryl’s scarred back. Daryl had never once let on that their father was beating him, Merle had always assumed he was the only one. As he looked at his brother kneeling on the ground he realized how he’d failed Daryl when they were younger and the guilt he felt was making him sick.

“Yeah, ‘e did. ‘E did the same t’ya,” Daryl said over his shoulder. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Merle, he didn’t want to see the pity or guilt on his brother’s face, all he wanted was to be alone. He threw his backpack over his shoulders to cover up his scars as he added, unable to keep the accusatory tone out of his voice, “That’s why ya left first.” With that he grabbed his bow and pushed himself to his feet and, against his better judgement, glanced at Madison. The tears threatening to escape her eyes hit him like a punch to the gut. He couldn’t bear her looking at him that way and he hung his head; he knew she had guessed where his scars came from, but until this moment she didn’t know for certain and now he’d never be the same in her eyes. He never wanted her pity and he didn’t want her to look at him differently, but now she wouldn’t see him as a strong man who could protect her against this brutal world they lived in. She’d look at him and see someone who was weak, someone who was a victim just like she was, just like the person she had repeatedly told him she hated. Daryl started walking without a word, knowing that he’d lost Madison’s respect hurting worse than the beatings that gave him the scars in the first place.

“I had t’, man. I woulda killed ‘im otherwise,” Merle explained in way of an apology to Daryl’s retreating back, “Where ya going?”

“Back where I b’long,” Daryl answered, finally facing his brother and pausing, careful to avoid Madison’s eyes.

“I can’t go with ya,” Merle called out, “I tried t’kill that black bitch. Damn near killed the Chinese kid.” Madison watched Merle as he spoke, shocked to see remorse for what he’d done to Michonne and Glenn. In the panic brought on by fear of losing his brother again Madison could finally see a glimpse of the man behind his callous facade and was surprised to find she felt sorry for him.

“‘E’s Korean,” Daryl corrected.

Merle pulled a face and shook his head, “Whatever! Doesn’t matter, man. I jus’ can’t go with ya.”

Daryl couldn’t look at Merle anymore and dropped his gaze, nodding to himself as he worked up the courage to do what had to be done, “Y’know, I may be the one walkin’ away, but yer the one that’s leavin. Again.” Without another word, he turned away and stormed off into the woods, quickly disappearing from view.

Concern for Daryl’s safety took over and Madison sprinted after him, barely glancing at Merle as she ran past him; Daryl was too worked up to be out there on his own, he needed to take a second to calm down before he got himself hurt. “Daryl! Daryl, stop!” she called, her pleas falling on deaf ears. The faster she ran to catch up to him, the faster he pushed himself trying to lose her; he didn’t want to hear whatever she had to say, no matter what it was it would only make him feel worse. “Hey, you stupid redneck! Use your brain for once and stop before you get yourself killed!” Madison screamed; poking the bear wasn’t the smartest tactic, but she knew it would be effective.

Daryl skidded to a stop and whipped around, his eyes narrowed as he charged Madison, “What the hell ya say t’me?”

“Before you say anything else, I’m sorry. I only said that to get you to stop. You need to calm down, you’re not thinking clearly.”

“An’ ya know what I’m thinkin’, do ya?”

Madison sighed and reached for his hand, “I'm not saying that, just-“

“Jus’ that y’know better than me!” Daryl bellowed, knocking Madison’s hands away, “Ya’ve always thought that, huh? Y’went to college an’ had a career an’ I’m just some piece of shit redneck that didn’t graduate high school an’ ain’t done shit with ‘is life! Yer a real piece of work! Snooty bitch, always lookin’ down yer nose at me!” Before she knew what she was doing, Madison’s hand flew towards Daryl’s cheek. He caught her by the wrist before she could slap him and pulled her closer and leaned over her as he snarled, “Look who’s got a violent streak in ‘er, huh? That’s the second time ya’ve tried t’hit me; third time I start hittin’ back.” Daryl cringed when he heard what came out of his mouth and he released Madison and took several steps away from her, recoiling from the situation and protecting her from anything else he might say or do; he was his father’s son after all and he wanted to run away from this part of himself, but no amount of running would change who he was. “How close were them theories of yers ‘bout where these came from? Ya finally got yer answers; ya happy now?” he asked with a dark chuckle as he gestured to his back with the bolt in his hand, projecting the anger and disgust he felt towards himself onto Madison.

“How can you even ask that? Of course not,” Madison assured him softly. The accusations he hurled at her hurt, she couldn’t deny that, but the fact that he referred to her attempted slap a hit and called her out for having a violent streak forced her to rein in her temper. She’d never considered herself a violent person, but she did just try to slap a man minutes after having her suspicions that he was beaten as a child confirmed. She forced herself to look at him, her eyes filled with regret, “Daryl, I’m sorry-”

Misinterpreting her apology, Daryl raised his voice again and started pacing, “I don’t want yer damn pity! Stop lookin’ at me like a sick animal gotta be put down!”

“Stop, please. You know I don’t think of you like that!”

“Then why’re ya starin’ at me?”

“Because you-we need to calm-”

Daryl stopped pacing and glared at Madison, the cold fury in his eyes sending a chill through her. “This ‘bout Merle an’ me plainnin’ on robbin’ the camp back in Atlanta?”

“What? No!” Madison exclaimed. Daryl was out of control and jumping from argument to argument and it was frightening her to watch him come undone like this.

“‘Cause that never happened!”

“I know it didn’t, I never said anything about it,” she sputtered.

Daryl scoffed, “Then what in the hell’re ya still lookin’ at me fer?”

Madison didn’t know what else to do to make him listen to her and she moved next to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly, refusing to let go when he tried to break free. “Because you’re frantic and need to calm down,” she begged, “Please, you’re scaring me. I don’t want you to die out here.”

The sincerity behind Madison’s pleas finally broke through the walls Daryl had furiously been building to keep from dealing with what happened with Merle and he stopped struggling to get away from Madison and clung to her like his life depended on it. He buried his face in her hair and breathed deeply, trying desperately to hold back the tears of embarrassment and regret threatening to escape. “Y’ain’t a snooty bitch, Maddie,” he murmured against her neck, the remorse in his voice unmistakable.

“I love you, Daryl,” she whispered in his ear, closing her eyes and running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, “Nothing will ever change that.” She didn’t think it was possible, but Daryl held on to her tighter as the relief her words gave him washed over him. After a few more minutes she pressed her lips to his check before gently pulling back and meeting his pale blue eyes and brushing his hair off his forehead; she knew he was still hurting, but they couldn’t stay here any longer. “Come on,” she said as she reluctantly released him, “If we get moving I bet we can get back to the prison before dark.” She dropped her eyes to the ground and started walking, stopping and turning back to Daryl when she remembered she had no idea where they were, “Which way is it?”

Daryl gave her a lopsided grin and took her hand, leading her in the right direction. Several minutes passed in silence as the pair worked their way through the trees. “Ya’ve gotta be kiddin’ me,” Daryl groaned, coming to a stop as he recognized the footsteps coming up behind them.

“What’s wrong?” Madison asked, dropping Daryl’s hand so she could reach for her knife and following his gaze then groaning herself when she caught sight of Merle through the trees behind them. “What’re you doing here, Merle?”

“Don’t concern ya, princess. This is b’tween me an’ m’brother.”

“Got nothin’ t’say t’ya,” Daryl shot at Merle, the humiliation he felt earlier creeping to the surface again.

Madison studied Merle’s guilt-ridden expression and tried to determine if he genuinely felt bad or if he was trying to get their sympathy. “Look, man,” he began, taking a small step towards Daryl, “I messed up when we was kids an’ ya paid the price fer it. I wasn’t there when ya needed me; I ain’t gonna leave ya again, lil’ brother. Even if it means goin’ t’that damn prison of yers.”

“Things’re gonna be differ’nt this time ‘round,” Daryl stated flatly, narrowing his eyes at his brother and pulling himself up to his full height. It was time he took charge and put Merle in his place, “Ya can’t cause trouble’r Rick’ll kick ya out on yer ass.” Merle tilted his head and clenched his jaw, clearly unhappy with Daryl’s demands, but willing to play along if it meant he wouldn’t lose his brother. Daryl glanced at Madison then looked back at Merle, “Y’can say whate’er y’wanna ‘bout me, man, I don’t care, I’m used t’it; but Maddie’s off limits. Got it? Keep treatin’ ‘er like she’s somethin’ y’stepped in an’ I’ll kick y’out myself. Yer blood, but she’s m’family now.”

Madison was shocked by how valiantly Daryl stood up for her; now wasn’t the time, but she made a mental note to tell Daryl later how much it meant to her. Merle rolled his eyes and held his hand up, “Whatever.”

Without another word Daryl turned around, taking lead, and guided the group towards the prison. No one spoke as they walked, the tension in the air too suffocating to break with small talk. Madison looked around the surrounding woods and smiled widely when she saw the familiar train tracks that ran alongside the prison; they were finally home. Gunfire rang out and Daryl whipped around and pulled Madison down to the forest floor, shielding her with his body until he realized the shots weren’t aimed at them, they were coming from the prison.

“Told ya the Governor would be payin’ ‘em a visit,” Merle hissed, rising to his feet and pulling Daryl and Madison up with him, “We gotta get the hell outta here b’fore they spot us.” Daryl and Madison shared a look, silently agreeing to help whoever was still alive inside, and raced towards the prison, readying their weapons as they ran. Merle watched, dumbfounded, as the other two charged into battle. “Oh, c’mon!” he called after them, unenthusiastically running towards the prison when neither of them responded, determined to do what he could to keep his little brother alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shameless self promotion never hurt anybody, right? I love where Daryl and Maddie are in their relationship, and I don't know about you, but I miss the build up between them from the beginning of the story sometimes. I couldn't sleep one night and had an idea for a scene that would've fit about halfway through chapter 10 (after Madison's fight with Carol) and it just wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it out, which I finally did. If you want to read a "bonus scene" between Daryl and Maddie I've added it as Part 2 of the "Second Hand Hearts" series. It's titled "If You Want". So check it out...if you want (sorry, couldn't pass that up!).


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It didn't take me two months to get an update up this time, just a month and a half! I know I say this with every update, but thank you to everyone who has stuck by me and this story; your support means the world to me. I can't thank you enough. And again, as always, I don't own any part of TWD (if only!), I only own Madison.

Nothing else mattered, not the walkers closing in on all sides, drawn to the prison by the gunfire, not the bullets flying in all directions, and not Merle’s persistent attempts to get Daryl and Madison to turn around; all that mattered was reaching those under attack before it was too late. An earsplitting crash rose above the chaos and Madison skidded to a stop, watching in horror as a delivery van plowed through the outer gates and came to a stop in the middle of the prison yard. Everything went quiet as all eyes turned to the van and watched a slew of walkers pour out of the back.

Shots erupted again pulling Madison’s attention from the van to the main source of the gunfire. Hatred blinded her as she zeroed in on the one-eyed man shooting his machine gun haphazardly at the prison as he stood in the driver’s side door of a pick-up truck. Recognizing the Governor immediately she aimed her gun at his head and tuned out the rest of the world; she’d missed her chance to kill him in Woodbury and now her friends were paying the price, she wouldn’t make that mistake again. Out of nowhere something grabbed her right arm and her blood ran cold as the only sounds that could have broken her concentration at that moment reached her ears, the snarls and snapping jaws of a walker. A strangled cry escaped her lips as she furiously tried to break free and pass her gun to her left hand so she could shoot the monster latched onto her arm. A single shot rang out. It was closer than the others and Madison flinched when she felt blood splatter across her face as she realized the shot was aimed at her. She froze for a moment, waiting for the searing pain of a gunshot wound to strike; it wasn’t until the walker’s grip on her arm eased and it fell to the ground that it dawned on her that she wasn’t the target, the walker was. She stared at the walker by her feet before looking up to see who saved her. She couldn’t hide the shock on her face when her eyes landed on Merle and she gave him a slow, baffled nod, the only form of a thank you she could muster at the moment. Merle gave her a sharp nod then raced towards the prison fence to help his brother fight off the walkers surrounding Rick. She forced herself to shake off her close call and whipped around, gun raised, to take down the Governor only to see him and his men speeding away. She screamed in frustration as she futilely fired several shots at her disappearing target, furious with herself for letting him get away again. She should have taken the shot and if she was bitten in the process, so be it; at least he'd be dead and her friends would be safe. Cries of exertion caught her attention and she rushed over to help thin out the pack of walkers closing in on Rick.

Everyone fought side by side to take down the monsters surrounding them, but what astounded Madison the most was the fact that Merle was actually helping and not just standing on the sidelines watching like earlier on the bridge; maybe he wasn’t a lost cause after all, maybe he was taking Daryl’s words to heart. When the final walker was dead Madison glanced from face to face of the men surrounding her to make sure everyone was all right. The expression on Rick’s exhausted face was indiscernible as he looked between Daryl and the redhead standing nearby. Madison took a deep breath and noticed how Daryl tensed under Rick's gaze as they waited for the verdict of whether or not they'd be allowed to stay. Finally, after a pause that in reality was only a matter of seconds, but felt like years, Rick gave Daryl a grateful nod, silently welcoming them back to the group. Daryl returned the nod and relaxed, stepping forward and taking his place next to Rick once again.

Relieved to know they still had a place within the group Madison released the breath she was holding and turned her eyes towards the prison, staring in disbelief at the walkers wandering the prison yard. She numbly walked towards the fence and clung to the chain link as tears stung her eyes, stunned that in a matter of minutes one lunatic could erase the weeks of hard work they'd put into the prison making it  a safe place to live.

Daryl watched Madison as she roughly wiped away the unwanted tears on her cheek and fought to keep the rest at bay. He stood behind her and placed a hand on each of her shoulders, doing his best to console her. “Good t’be back, right Buster?” he sighed, following her gaze.

“We’re right back where we started,” she murmured, glancing over her shoulder and meeting Daryl’s eyes before turning away and staring forward again with a bitter scowl, “I should’ve killed him when I had the chance.”

“What’re ya talkin’ ‘bout?”

“Who?” Rick asked, turning his full attention to Madison, “The Governor?”

Madison looked to Rick and nodded, anxiously shifting her weight; she hadn’t meant for anyone else to hear her besides Daryl, she didn’t want Rick to know how badly she’d screwed up now that the group was suffering the consequences of her failure. “I had him in my sights at Woodbury,” she quietly explained, “I should’ve taken the shot, but I ran with you guys. I could’ve ended this if I’d stayed behind and fired.” Daryl ran his hands up and down Madison’s arms and her gaze fell to the ground, head slumped from the weight of her confession. She watched Rick out of the corner of her eye as she waited for him to respond, preparing for the worst.

The roar of an engine saved her from the fallout as Glenn drove the pickup truck through the mangled gates to carry them safely through the walker filled yard. The four of them quickly made their way to the gate, anxious to get behind the safety of the still intact inner fence. Madison brought up the rear and tensed when Merle slowed down and matched her speed. “Governor’s a cockroach, princess. Damn near impossible t’kill,” Merle mumbled, “This ain’t yer fault.” Madison whipped her head around and gawked at him, trying to wrap her mind around this new Merle who had saved her life and was trying to comfort her barely twenty-four hours after threatening her life. Realizing she was staring she dropped her gaze and mumbled a quiet thank you. Merle smirked at her reaction, “Don’t look s’surprised; I ain’t always a dick, y’know.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Madison replied with a soft chuckle and a bewildered shake of her head; if anyone had told her the day would come when she would be joking around with Merle Dixon she would’ve thought they were out of their mind, yet here she was. The small sound caught Daryl’s attention and he glanced over his shoulder, certain his mind was playing tricks on him, and suppressed an amazed smile when he saw Madison and Merle getting along, if only for a second.

Glenn brought the truck to a stop as they approached. “Nice of you to show up,” he sneered, glaring daggers at Daryl and Madison.

“Get in,” Rick ordered them, staring at Glenn and silently telling him to get over his grudge against the couple. Daryl’s eyes narrowed at Glenn as he yanked the door open and helped Madison climb inside.

Glenn met Daryl’s cold glare and shook his head in frustration, scoffing at the situation. Movement over Daryl’s shoulder caught Glenn’s attention and his frustration turned to full-fledged anger as he watched Merle step up to the truck. “No! Not you!”

Daryl froze mid-motion as he climbed into the truck behind Madison. He knew who Glenn was talking to without having to check and he stared the younger man down, growling, “Ya really wanna do this now?”

“Look, it’s one thing for you guys to come back after abandoning us on the side of the road like you did-”

“We didn’t abandon you,” Madison insisted, hurt by Glenn’s accusations, “It’s not that simple!”

“-but to bring him back with you?” Glenn continued as if he hadn’t heard Madison’s protest, almost shaking with rage as he let all of his anger out on Daryl, “Did-did you really think we’d welcome him with open arms after everything that’s happened, after everything he’s done?”

Daryl stayed silent, his eyes never leaving Glenn’s face as he gripped the door with all his strength to keep himself from attacking the man in front of him. “Merle did what ‘e did, but this ain’t all on ‘im,” he snarled through clenched teeth.

“Madison, have you seen yourself? You can’t tell me you want him here!” Glenn turned to the redhead in the back seat, hoping to use her against Daryl and make him change his mind.

Madison’s mouth fell open; outraged that Glenn would try to pit her against Daryl to make his case. She tried to sputter out a response, but before she could formulate a coherent sentence Daryl cut her off, shouting at Glenn, “Don’t try pullin’ that shit, leave ‘er outta this!”

“Keep it down!” Rick interjected, putting an end to the argument between Glenn and Daryl. “All this yellin’ is gonna bring more walkers and we can’t afford to waste any more ammo on them, we-we gotta save what little we have. We’ve got some things to figure out, but Merle’s comin’,” Rick shot a withering glare at Merle when he saw the triumphant smirk on his face, “For now.”

Hatred radiated from the driver’s seat as Glenn drove back to the inner gate. The prison yard had never seemed bigger to Madison as she watched walker after walker pass by the window, focusing on anything besides the unbearable tension inside the truck. A faint smile covered her face when Daryl’s strong hand rested on her knee; whether he was offering her support or looking for support himself she wasn’t sure and she covered his hand with her own, glancing at him. He could read the anxiety written on her face and gave her a slight nod, telling her everything would be all right. As soon as Glenn put the truck in park he jumped out, slamming the door behind him. “They’re back. All three of them,” he announced bitterly to the curious, frightened crowd waiting by the gate before he stormed into the cellblock.

The other four left in the truck trickled out behind him. Rick immediately went into damage control mode as he tried to prepare the others for Merle’s arrival, particularly Michonne whose presence took Madison completely by surprise; after the way Rick was talking before Daryl and Merle left she thought Michonne would’ve been long gone by now. Before the situation got too far out of control Rick ushered everyone inside, expertly sidestepping questions and insisting that there was a lot to discuss, but now wasn’t the time or place; everyone had to get inside first and then they’d go from there. Everyone did as Rick said and quickly retreated into the safety of the cellblock. Madison tried and failed to read the faces of those surrounding her, hoping to determine whether or not Glenn was the only one that felt betrayed by her and Daryl leaving. It was strange feeling like she was on the outside of this group she loved like family; she felt just as scared and alone as she did stepping out of the RV her first day on the farm. Her eyes darted to Daryl, she was so grateful to have him by her side and, just like on the farm, she took comfort knowing that he wanted her there, even if no one else did.

Once everyone was inside Rick continued ignoring the questions about Merle and what to do in light of the Governor’s attack and ordered everyone into the cellblock. The group filed inside and Merle followed his brother, acting as though he was one of them. Rick saw this and stood in front of Merle, pushing him back into the common area and locking the cellblock door, putting a barrier between Merle and the others. “Hey, man, I jus’ saved yer life; what the hell?” Merle demanded through the bars.

“You’re not goin’ anywhere near our people till we decide what to do with you,” Rick spat, turning around. He made his way to Daryl who was back to his old habits of standing on the outskirts of the group, “You and I need to talk.”

Daryl nodded and his eyes fell to the floor as he followed Rick so they could talk without everyone overhearing them. Before he got too far Madison caught hold of his arm, bringing him to a stop long enough for her to whisper, “If Rick decides Merle can’t stay are we leaving with him again?”

“Dunno, maybe,” Daryl muttered with a shrug, unable to look Madison in the eye; her use of the word “we” didn’t go unnoticed and he couldn’t bear the thought of uprooting her for the sake of his brother again.

“Okay,” she nodded, glancing at Merle and then returning her attention to Daryl, “Just don’t leave without me. No matter what I’m coming with you.” Daryl shifted his weight from one foot to the other and gave her a halfhearted nod, still on the fence about putting her in a dangerous situation just so he could be selfish and have her with him. Reading the uncertainty on his face Madison reached up and turned his head, forcing him to look at her, “I mean it; I’ll follow you again if that’s what it takes so do me a favor and don’t make it harder than it has to be. Don’t leave without me. Promise me.”

“Promise,” he sighed, gently moving her hand from his face and turning back to Rick who was waiting impatiently.

With Daryl gone, Madison was very aware that all eyes were on her. She nervously tucked her hair behind her ears then folded her arms, eyes darting anxiously from person to person as she struggled to think of the right thing to say. “I’m sorry we weren’t here,” she blurted, “Is everyone, oth-other than Axel did anyone else…” She hung her head and let out a defeated sigh, “Are you all all right?”

“Suddenly you’re concerned with how we’re doing?” Glenn asked, throwing an icy glare at her, “Where was this two days ago, huh?” Maggie stepped forward and rested her hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down, but he shook it off without so much as glancing at her as he continued berating Madison. “Don’t stand there and pretend you give a damn about us when you turned your back on us and left with him,” he shouted gesturing angrily at Merle, “If it were up to me you guys would’ve been left out there. You three deserve each other.” Glenn stayed where he was for a second longer, his eyes never leaving the redhead in front of him, and then he abruptly turned around and stormed off with Maggie close behind, casting a brief, apologetic glance at Madison.

Madison kept her head held high as she closed her eyes and let Glenn’s accusations settle in her mind; she’d been expecting a frosty welcome, but Glenn’s words still stung, she only hoped the anger would subside eventually and she and Daryl would find their place within the group again. An arm wrapping around her shoulders forced her to open her eyes and a sad smile covered her face when she saw Hershel by her side. “Glenn doesn’t speak for everyone; I’m happy you came back.” He studied her face and took a cursory look at her wrists, “I want to look you over, make sure you’re all right.”

“Later,” Madison said quietly, “It’s getting dark enough that someone can be on watch without being seen. Besides you couldn’t see anything without a flashlight or something; I’ve waited this long a few more hours won’t hurt.”

“All right, first thing tomorrow then,” Hershel sighed and Madison nodded in agreement.

Beth held out the rifle in her hands and Madison took it with a grateful smile. As soon as her hands were free Beth threw her arms around Madison, catching her in a tight hug and whispering, “Welcome home, Madison.” Madison returned Beth’s hug with her free arm, fighting back the tears of relief stinging her eyes; she still had a lot to make up for, but at least she had a few people on her side.

The night crept by slowly as Madison kept watch on the catwalk connecting their cellblock to the main part of the prison from the outside. Her first instinct had been to head to a guard tower, but she decided that if the Governor or his men came back for round two that’s where they’d attack first so she settled on the catwalk hoping she’d be a little safer there. She stifled a yawn and rubbed her eyes, she’d only slept two, maybe three hours since she was captured and now that the adrenaline from the past few days was wearing off exhaustion was quickly catching up to her. She let out another yawn and shook her head, telling herself that she just had to make it through the night and her “appointment” with Hershel and then she could finally sleep.

“Why did you volunteer to take watch if you can’t even keep your eyes open?”

Glenn’s stern voice startled her and she whipped her head around to face him, very much awake now that her heart was racing after his sudden appearance. “I’m fine, especially now,” she insisted, turning away from him and focusing ahead once again, “Besides it’s the least I could do.”

“You mean after you chose the enemy over us? I’d say so, yeah. We took you in and saved your life a year ago; a little loyalty would be nice, that’s all.” he scoffed as he tried to pull the gun from her hands, “Get inside, I’ll take watch. We need someone trustworthy out here.”

Madison yanked the rifle away from him and threw the strap over her head, glaring at him, “Are you done?”

“Done with what?”

“Done blaming me for leaving with Daryl when you and I both you would do the exact same thing if Maggie left to be with Hershel and Beth!”

“They’d never leave the group stranded! When the chips are down, we can count on them. That’s more than I can say for you.”

Madison had never seen Glenn like this and wondered if he’d been on the warpath since they parted ways. “We came back,” she said, her jaw clenched as she fought to keep her temper in check, a goal that was slipping away from her the more Glenn insulted her.

“With Merle! After Axel was killed!”

“You can’t honestly blame us for that; the Governor would’ve attacked whether we were here or not!”

A dark chuckle escaped Glenn, “All right Madison, fine. You’re right; I can’t blame you for that, but for bringing Merle back into our lives? I absolutely can. How can you of all people be okay with this?”

“Me of all people?” Madison echoed, folding her arms.

“After what he did to you, after what your fiancé did-”

“Don’t you dare bring that up!” Madison shouted, “This has nothing to do with him!”

“I think it does,” Glenn countered, “You’re used to getting the crap beaten out of you and I think that’s skewed your opinion-”

“Shut up!” Madison’s hands were shaking; she understood where Glenn’s frustrations were coming from, but enough was enough and he’d crossed the line, “I’m not blind, Glenn, and I’m not stupid. I know better than you what Merle’s capable of. At least-at least what he did to you stopped with his fist and didn’t go on for an extra two days!”

The anger in Glenn’s eyes disappeared and was replaced by concern; for the first time he considered the possibility that having Merle around was just as hard for Madison as it was for him and that Merle coming back with her and Daryl was beyond her control. “Wh-what else did he do?” he asked, the edge to his voice gone.

Madison shook her head and muttered, doing her best to look at anything other than the man standing next to her, “What does it matter? The point I’m trying to make is that I don’t need you to tell me how terrible he is, okay? I know what he’s done.” She sighed and glanced back at Glenn, “But I also know he saved my life this afternoon. Mine and Rick’s. That’s why he’s still here.”

“And that makes up for everything else?” Glenn asked, watching Madison skeptically.

“It’s a start,” she answered with a shrug, ignoring Glenn’s exasperated huff, “You can’t forgive him, I get it and I certainly don’t blame you, but stop acting like Daryl and I stabbed you in the back. We’re here now, we came back. We’re on your side, nothing’s changed.” Madison gave a small, frustrated laugh, “Listen, hate Merle if that makes you feel better or hate me for chasing after them, but cut Daryl some slack. He just wanted to be with his family again; is that so wrong?” From the corner of her eye she could see Glenn shake his head before he turned around and went back inside. When she was alone again, she released a long, deep breath and she focused her attention on watching for any signs of movement in the darkness.

At the first hint of the rising sun Madison returned into the safety of the prison; she knew they’d have to figure out a safe way to have someone on guard duty during the day, but until then she wasn’t going to risk staying out where she could be seen. She slipped into the cellblock and pulled the heavy metal door closed behind her, making sure to close it securely. She turned around and saw Rick and Daryl coming out of a nearby cell. “Were you talking with Rick all night?” she quietly asked Daryl, falling into step next to him and taking his hand as they made their way to what was hopefully still their cell. Daryl glanced at her and nodded, rubbing his face with his free hand, clearly exhausted. “Are we staying?”

“Yeah.”

“Is Merle?”

“Fer now,” he sighed, “S’long as ‘e keeps ‘is shit t’gether.”

Madison kept her mouth shut, but rolled her eyes; even though her last interaction with Merle had been surprisingly civil, they were still talking about Merle and she knew it was only a matter of time before he wore out his welcome. At least when they left this time they could grab what little they owned and be slightly more prepared to survive in the woods she told herself, trying to look on the positive side of their uncertain future with the group.

Once the others became aware that Rick had emerged they slowly started congregating around him, anxious to know what their leader wanted them to do next. Hershel took a seat on the stairs leading to the upper level and glanced around at the concerned faces of the group members surrounding him before finally turning to Rick, “We’re all finally in the same room; I think it’s time we decide where we’re headin’.”

“We’re not leavin’,” Rick said matter-of-factly, leaving no room for debate as he cocked his gun and threw the strap over his head. The tone of the discussion brought Daryl and Madison to a stop and they leaned against the railing, surveying the group and forgetting their previous destination.

“We can’t stay here,” Hershel countered forcefully, a hint of exasperation and irritation easily heard in his voice.

“What if there’s another sniper?” Maggie asked Rick, “A wood pallet won’t stop one of those rounds.”

Beth spoke up, quietly voicing her concerns, “We can’t even go outside.”

“Not in the daylight,” Carol added.

“If Rick says we’re not running, we’re not running,” Glenn stated firmly, tired of the run around and not wanting to back down and give up what they’d fought so hard for.

“No, better t’live like rats,” Merle said from the other side of the barred door that still separated him from the group, breaking his silence. Everyone turned and stared at him, amazed that he had the nerve to interfere with a group decision like this.

Rick shook his head, “You got a better idea?”

“Yeah,” Merle answered with a nod and nonchalant shrug, “We shoulda slid outta ‘ere last night an’ lived t’fight ‘nother day. But we lost that window, didn’t we? I’m sure ‘e’s got scouts on every road outta this place by now.”

“That little insight would’ve come in handy last night!” Madison snapped. She’d tried giving him the benefit of the doubt and hoped that he was changing after Daryl took charge in the forest, but Merle was always going to be the same trouble-causing man he’d always been; she felt stupid for believing otherwise, “If that was our only chance to get out of here alive, why didn’t you say-”

“Would y’all’ve listened t’me if I had?”

The constant fighting between the group and his brother was getting under Daryl’s skin and he started pacing along the railing. “Don’t care if ‘e’s got that whole damn town watchin’ us; we ain’t scared of that prick,” he fumed, trying to remind the others who the real enemy was.

“Y’all should be,” Merle continued, “Y’an’ yer girlfriend know who we’re dealin’ with good as I do, lil’ brother. That truck through the fence thing, that’s jus’ ‘im ringin’ the doorbell. We might have some thick walls t’hide b’hind, but ‘e’s got the guns an’ the numbers. An’ if ‘e takes the high ground ‘round this place an’ shoots…” He shook his head and focused his attention on Rick, “Hell, ‘e could jus’ starve us out if ‘e wanted t’.”

Maggie threw a scathing glance at Merle as he spoke, the truthfulness behind his comments making her uneasy. “Let’s put him in the other cellblock,” she mumbled.

“No,” Daryl said forcefully, still pacing, “‘e’s got a point.”

Maggie rolled her eyes at Daryl’s continual efforts to stand up for his brother then turned back to Merle, unable to hide her frustrations anymore, “This is all you! You started this!”

“What’s the difference whose fault it is?” Beth interrupted her sister and took several slow steps down the stairs; she didn’t see what good could come from sitting around pointing fingers, they had bigger issues to deal with, “What do we do?”

With a weary shake of his head Hershel spoke up again, “I said we should leave. Now Axel’s dead.” He turned his attention to Rick as he finished his thought, “We can’t just sit here.” Rick met Hershel’s gaze for a moment then, without a word, spun around and marched towards the cellblock door. “Get back here!” Hershel yelled after him, rising to his feet and following after Rick as quickly as his crutches would allow. Rick came to a stop, but refused to look at the older gentleman; Hershel continued, wanting to say as much as he could before Rick walked away again. “You’re slippin’ Rick. We’ve all seen it. We understand why. But now is not the time. You once said this isn’t a democracy, now you have to own up to that. I put my family life in your hands. So get your head clear and do somethin’.”

Eventually Rick looked over his shoulder to Hershel and snarled, “I am.” Before anyone could say another word he stormed out of the cellblock to take watch, leaving the group stunned and speechless.

Madison stared after Rick; nothing was decided, no plans were made and he just took off. They were in trouble and needed their leader. “This is bad,” she muttered, leaning heavily on the railing in front of her and pushing her hair back, “Daryl, what are we going to do?” She waited a moment for a response and turned to look at the man standing next to her when none came. He was staring straight ahead, not looking at anything in particular, the dark circles under his eyes and the strained scowl on his face aging him by decades. Madison gently caressed his back and asked quietly, “When was the last time you slept?” The comforting feeling of her hand grounded Daryl to the present enough for him to answer her with a slight shrug. “Let’s get you lying down before you fall over,” she whispered as she put her arm around him and lead him away from the railing.

“Madison, don’t try and sneak off; I still need to look you over,” Hershel called when he lost sight of her.

She threw her head back and sighed; she didn’t see the point of having him take a look at her, she’d had these injuries many times before and knew they'd heal on their own with time. She turned from Daryl to call down to Hershel and explain this, but stopped when Daryl spoke, his voice low and soft, “I know where the cell is, Buster. Go get checked out, ‘kay?” He leaned down and pressed his lips to Madison’s forehead then whispered, “I'll rest easier knowin’ yer gettin’ taken care of.”

“Okay,” she quietly agreed with a nod before making her way downstairs. When she reached the bottom of the stairs where Hershel was waiting for her she raised her hands in surrender, “All right Hershel, you win. Where do you want me?”

“Third cell from the end has the best light this time of day,” Hershel chuckled, pointing the way with one of his crutches. Once they got to the cell Hershel told Madison to take a seat on the bed; she obeyed with a sigh, still not convinced all this was necessary, and dragged the small stool on the far side of the cell in front of her so Hershel could sit while he examined her. “This is goin’ to hurt, I’m sorry,” he said quietly as he turned her face towards the light, pressing the damaged areas gently to find any broken bones. Madison nodded, bracing herself and wincing slightly when he touched her jaw. “I hate seein’ you like this.”

“You should be used to it by now,” Madison chuckled as she tried to keep the mood in the room light, “I think I’m the most accident prone one here.”

“This wasn’t exactly an accident,” he pointed out with a sad smile as he continued examining her bruised face.

“I know.”

A look of fatherly concern covered Hershel’s face when he sat back and met Madison’s eyes, “This must feel a little too familiar; how’re you holdin’ up?”

“It doesn’t really hurt anymore unless I touch it, so I’m fine,” Madison answered, purposefully avoiding the true meaning behind Hershel’s question.

“That’s not what I’m askin’.”

Her eyes fell to the floor and she shrugged, “I’m okay.”

“You don’t have to be. Given what you’ve been through in the past, even if you hadn’t been through all that...you don’t have to be all right with this, Madison.”

“What’s my other option?” she asked with a humorless laugh, finally meeting Hershel’s gaze, “Turn my back on Daryl and his brother?” She paused for a moment and shook her head, “No, I made the choice to be all right with this when I followed Daryl. It’s been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but I’ve done it; I can’t just change my mind now.” She exhaled deeply and whispered, studying her hands and wishing everybody would stop bringing up Charles and what he did to her, “Besides this is...different than before. Merle wasn’t trying to control me or prove that he owned me or...whatever was going on in Charles’ mind. Merle just wanted information.”

Hershel sat quietly as he watched the painful struggle play out on Madison’s face while she tried to convince herself that everything was, in fact, all right. “Did you lose consciousness?” he asked softly, redirecting the discussion to her physical state rather than her emotional, a topic she seemed more apt to handle at the moment.

“For a little bit, yeah; but I don’t know for how long,” she answered, grateful to be moving on, “He knocked me out at the store then I woke up in Woodbury.”

“But you came to without any difficulty?” Madison replied with a nod and Hershel let out a relieved sigh, “You were quite lucky then.” Try as she might, she couldn’t keep from scoffing at the older man and he responded with a stern expression, “It could’ve been much worse. No serious head trauma and no broken bones; you were lucky. Now, anythin’ else I should take a look at?”

“Just these, I guess,” Madison said looking at her wrists. They were already scabbed over, but she knew Hershel wanted to be thorough and would notice them eventually; it was better to get this whole process over and done with so everyone could move on.

Taking her hands in his, Hershel studied her arms, “What on earth happened here?”

“Duct tape. I was strapped to a chair and tried to escape when I heard what was happening to Glenn.” Hershel didn’t respond as he looked more intently at her wrists, brow furrowed. The expression on his face combined with his silence had Madison worried about her injuries for the first time, “What? Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

“These look infected.”

Hershel’s words hung in the air for a moment while Madison’s mind reeled, all she could think about was how worried they were about infection after his amputation; infections were dangerous even before the world turned upside down, but now they could very easily cost someone their life. “So much was happening and the bleeding had mostly stopped; I wasn’t even thinking about infection,” she admitted, replaying the past two and a half days in her mind and thinking of everything that could’ve gotten into her open wounds then her heart stopped and she looked to Hershel with terror in her eyes. “I-I’ve killed several walkers since this happened,” she said in a strangled whisper, teetering on the verge of a panic attack, “If any of their blood got in these cuts-”

“Don’t panic,” he interrupted her kindly, but firmly, quickly checking for a fever while forcing the worry from his eyes, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Her temperature felt normal and relief washed over him, it wasn’t too late. He gave her hands a sturdy squeeze, “Madison, look at me. I’m goin’ to scrub these wounds clean and bandage them up. We’ve got antibiotics from the infirmary and you’re goin’ to take several doses over the next couple of days.” Madison nodded and bit her lip, fighting to keep herself from crying; she couldn’t believe after everything she’d survived over the past year it could all be over because of something so stupid. “Everythin’s goin’ to be fine,” Hershel continued, seeing through the brave, albeit cracking, facade of the young woman in front of him, “We’ll keep an eye on it; we caught it early. This is good.” He brushed a tear from her cheek then rested his hand on her shoulder, “I’m goin’ to take care of you.”

“You always have,” Madison whispered with a small, sad smile; she was still terrified, but Hershel had managed to help her see a glimmer of hope and she trusted he would do everything in his power to make sure she would be all right. Once Madison had calmed down Hershel wasted no time in deep cleaning her wrists the best he could, popping open the scabs and scrubbing away the infected tissue. It hurt more than she had bargained for, but Madison welcomed the pain; the pain meant Hershel was getting the job done. When he was satisfied that he’d done all he could do he wrapped her wrists in gauze and gave her her first dose of antibiotics. “And to think I was going to try to blow this off because I didn’t think it was necessary,” she sighed as she slowly rose to her feet, “Thank you for insisting on checking me out.”

“We’re family. We watch out for one another.” Unable to speak, Madison hugged him tightly, overwhelmed to her herself referred to as family once again.

A loud clang broke the silence outside the cell when Rick closed the door behind him as he returned from scoping out the area surrounding the prison. He hollered for Daryl as he made his way through the cell block and Madison and Hershel followed him, eager to know what needed to be done next. “Field’s filled will walkers,” Rick announced as a small group gathered around him. Daryl made his way down the stairs and came to a stop next to Madison then turned to Rick as he continued addressing the group, “Didn’t see any snipers out there, but we’ll keep Maggie on watch.

“I’ll get up in the guard tower, take out half them walkers, give these guys a chance t’fix the fence,” Daryl volunteered. Madison watched him from the corner of eye; he was trying so hard to make things right with these people and prove he was still on their side, but he obviously hadn’t gotten any rest while she was in with Hershel and still looked like he was in danger of collapsing.

“Or use some of these cars to put the bus in place,” Michonne suggested, pulling Madison’s focus away from the man beside her.

Hershel shook his head, “We can’t access the field without burnin’ through our bullets.”

Madison chewed her lip as her mind raced, searching for another solution, “We can draw as many as we can to the fence, get them that way and then take out the stragglers by hand.”

“No,” Rick shot down her idea, “We don’t have the manpower we used to and I’m not losin’ anyone else.”

“So we’re trapped in here,” Glenn snapped, breaking his silence, “There’s barely any food or ammo left.”

Daryl stared at the floor in front of him and nervously nibbled on the tip of his right thumb as he assessed the group’s situation, “Been ‘ere b’fore. We’ll be ‘lright.”

“That’s when it was just us,” Glenn pointed out, anger rising in his voice as he spoke and glared at Daryl, “Before there was a snake in the nest.”

“Man, we gonna go through this again?” Madison inhaled deeply as she watched Daryl take a threatening step towards Glenn, hoping and praying he’d be able to keep his temper in check for once. Daryl stared the younger man down, “Look, Merle’s stayin’ ‘ere, ‘e’s with us now. Get used to it.” Rick stepped between Daryl and Glenn, trying to defuse the situation before it got out of control. “All y’all,” Daryl told the group, moving away from Rick and glaring at everyone surrounding him in turn. Madison reached for his hand and murmured his name in hopes of calming him down, but he tore his hand from her grasp and bounded up the stairs to get some space and cool off.

Glenn scoffed as he watched Daryl leave, then quickly turned around and faced Rick, hoping that now with Daryl out of the discussion he could talk some sense into the former sheriff, “Seriously, Rick, I don’t think Merle living here is going to fly.”

“I can’t kick him out!”

Unhappy with Rick’s answer, Glenn raised his voice, “I wouldn’t ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you!”

“This isn’t even remotely the same,” Madison said, meeting Glenn’s withering stare.

Hershel saw the anger on Glenn’s face and spoke up before he had a chance to respond, “Merle has military experience. He may be erratic, but don’t underestimate his loyalty to his brother.”

“Misplaced loyalty seems to be common where the Dixons are concerned,” Glenn grumbled, his eyes never leaving Madison. He shook his head and looked to Rick again, “What if we solve both our problems at once? Deliver Merle to the Governor.”

“No way, we’re not doing that,” Madison jumped in, “We’re not sinking to that lunatic’s level.”

“Why the hell not, Madison?” Glenn shot back, “We use Merle as a bargaining chip. Give the Governor his traitor, maybe declare a truce.”

Madison stared at Glenn in disbelief for a moment, “You really don’t get it. You’re lying to yourself if you think that will work. Listen, I’m not saying Merle’s innocent in all of this, but let’s not forget who gave him his marching orders. I really don’t think the Governor’s the sort of man to honor a truce, do you?”

Glenn shrugged, “We won’t know until we try.”

“We’re not there yet,” Rick said, glancing over his shoulder to see if either Dixon was listening to their conversation.

“Yet?” Madison asked, “He saved your life not even twenty-four hours ago, Rick! If you do this, there’s no coming back. You’ll lose Daryl’s trust for good. He’ll leave, we both will, and your numbers will back down to single digits.” She paused and stared at Rick, trying to figure out where his head was, “Are you willing to risk that on an idea that’s doomed from the start?”

“I said we’re not there. Merle’s stayin’. We’re gonna give him a chance, but if he screws up I'm not makin’ any promises.”

Rick abruptly turned and walked away as soon as the words left his mouth, ending the discussion for the time being. Glenn and Michonne glared at Madison as they left, both furious with her for speaking up like she did. Before Hershel followed the others he put his hand on Madison’s shoulder and gave her a comforting smile, letting her know she wasn’t alone. She let out a shaky breath and wearily massaged her temples, asking herself where that fervent defense of Merle came from. She shook her head and climbed the stairs to be with Daryl, hoping it wasn’t too soon to check on him.

Daryl stormed into his cell, his temper at a rolling boil when he heard Glenn offer up his brother as a peace offering to the Governor. He was about to march back downstairs and tell Glenn where he could stick his idiotic plan when Madison’s voice floated up to him and he sank to the bed as he listened to her stick her neck out and defend the man that kidnapped her and beat her to a pulp. With a troubled sigh he leaned back against the wall at the head of the bed, grabbed a bolt, and started fiddling with it just for the sake of keeping his hands busy. The voices downstairs faded and he knew the discussion had come to an end. He studied the bolt in his hand; coming back to the group wasn’t supposed to be this hard, having his brother back in his life was supposed to be a good thing.

A shape blocked the light trickling in through the cell door and he pulled his eyes away from the bolt to see who had the balls to try and talk to him right now, fully expecting to see Madison and stunned to see Carol leaning with her back against the door frame. He grunted and rolled his eyes, not in the mood to be around anyone. “Haven’t had a chance to say I’m glad you came back,” Carol said, ignoring Daryl’s irritated body language.

Daryl’s eyes scanned the dark, dingy cell they were in. The prison was far from an ideal place to live, but it was bearable when he felt like a valued member of the group, not just a barely tolerated outsider. Again. The tension and hostility, mostly from Glenn, since they got back was almost too much to handle and he found himself wondering if he’d made the right call coming back. “To what? All this?” he scoffed, dismissing Carol’s comment.

“This is our home,” she insisted, inviting herself in and taking a seat on an overturned bucket near the bed.

“This is a tomb,” he countered, unable to hide the defeated tone in his voice. When he and Rick stumbled across this place they thought it would be a sanctuary for the group, but so many of his friends had died here and he almost lost two others and now he’d dragged Madison back to this deathtrap with the Governor breathing down their necks, waiting for the chance to exterminate them. All he wanted was to keep her safe, but instead he’d sealed her fate; he felt like an executioner, leading the woman he loved to the gallows.

Carol’s small voice pulled him from his downward spiral. “That’s what T-Dog called it,” she murmured, scanning the room for herself, “Thought he was right.” Her eyes landed on Daryl’s face and she smiled at him, “Till you found me.” He returned her smile with a brief, sad, half-smile of his own before breaking eye contact and fiddling with the bolt in his hands again. Carol showing up uninvited and trying to get close to him felt very familiar and made him incredibly uncomfortable. He thought they’d moved past all this and the last thing he wanted was for Madison to get hurt again because of Carol.

When Daryl looked away, Carol’s gaze fell to her hands and she took a deep breath. “He’s your brother,” she said quietly before looking up and meeting his gaze again, “but he’s not good for you.” Daryl’s face fell; he knew what she was saying was true, but he didn’t like hearing it and he stared at Carol, waiting for her to make her point. “Don’t let him bring you down,” she added. A scowl covered his face and he focused intently on his bolt, trying to mask the pain and frustration he felt. “After all, look how far you’ve come.”

Unsure of how to respond to what Carol said, Daryl glanced around the room uneasily, looking for something to save him from this conversation. At a loss for words, a quiet laugh slipped out at the absurdity or her statement; he felt like he’d slid so far backwards over the past few days, how could Carol say he’d come so far? Unaware of the reason behind his laughter, Carol laughed with him for a moment before they both fell silent and Daryl’s eyes returned to his hands, crestfallen. “I won’t keep you any longer; obviously you’re extremely busy,” Carol sighed as she stood, “Welcome back.” Daryl glanced at her and gave her a barely noticeable nod, tensing when she patted his leg before turning to leave.

Madison slowly came to a stop when she heard Carol’s voice coming from her cell. After a brief internal debate she ran her hand through her hair and leaned against the railing, deciding to let Daryl have his reunion with Carol in peace. She stared at her bandaged wrists as she waited patiently to be able to go into her cell without interrupting anything. Her mind wandered as she tried to block out the conversation behind her, wanting to respect Daryl’s privacy, but she couldn’t help but overhear him call the prison a tomb or the defeated way he spoke which cut her like a knife. She didn’t know what she could do for him, knowing in this mood anything she’d try to say or do would immediately be dismissed as flimsy, hollow attempts to raise his spirits and she hoped Carol could reach him. A soft smile pulled at her lips when she heard him laugh quietly, even though it was only for a moment; she wished it had been her instead of Carol to make him laugh, but she was just grateful to hear it.

Carol slipped out of the cell and stopped when she saw Madison leaning on the railing. Madison felt someone’s eyes on her and looked over her shoulder, giving Carol a grateful smile when their eyes met. With a curt nod, Carol turned around and walked in the opposite direction before Madison could say anything to her. Madison sighed and added Carol’s name to the list of people who wished she’d never come back then pushed herself away from the railing and wandered into her cell. “Hey,” she said quietly, trying to gage Daryl's mood; even though she’d just heard him laugh, he still looked beaten, broken even.

Daryl’s head snapped up when he heard Madison’s voice. “Hey,” he whispered before clearing his throat and asking, “Hershel take a look at ya?”

“Yeah,” she answered as she plopped down next to him, leaning her back against the pole at the foot of the bed and meeting his eyes, “He said nothing’s broken.” She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, smiling at Daryl as she spoke, “But I could’ve told him that.”

Daryl noticed the bandages on her wrists for the first time and his eyes went wide. “What the hell happened? Why’re ya all wrapped up?” he demanded, sitting up quickly and reaching for her, studying her arms closely.

Madison cleared her throat before responding, swallowing her own anxieties and trying to answer as calmly as possible, “My cuts got infected so he cleaned them out really well and bandaged them to keep them clean this time. And they started bleeding again, so there’s that too.” She risked a quick glance at Daryl and saw the worry in his eyes and continued rambling, unable to control her mouth, “And let me tell you, getting them cleaned out almost hurt worse than when I got them, but at least everything’s taken care of now. He’s making me take some of the antibiotics they found in the infirmary for the next couple of days, just to be safe.”

Daryl nodded. He was aware that she was speaking, but he couldn’t have repeated what she said. A tense silence filled the room as he sat with her hands in his, trying to control his voice enough to ask the one question plaguing his mind. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her as he asked, his voice tight, “Think anythin’ from them walkers ya killed yesterday got in?”

“I have no idea, I mean I hope not. The bleeding stopped long before the bridge so I don’t think anything got in.”

“Ya got a fever?”

She shook her head and looked up, inhaling sharply as his piercing blue eyes locked with hers as if he were trying to read her thoughts. “No, no fever. And I think any of the other symptoms would’ve started by now, don’t you?” She gave him a weak smile and repeated what Hershel told her, hoping to finally convince herself as well as Daryl that they had nothing to worry about, “We caught it early. I’m going to be just fine.”

Daryl nodded again, letting her know he heard her, and clung to her hands; she was what mattered most to him in the entire world and the idea of losing her because she chose to be with him rather than get medical attention was killing him. Knowing there was nothing he could do for her, nothing anyone could do but wait and see if Hershel was right and he treated her in time, Daryl abruptly changed the subject, overcome with the need to be honest with the woman next to him, “Carol jus’ left.”

The sudden detour to their conversation caught Madison off guard, but she understood; Daryl hated feeling powerless and there was nothing else to say so there was no point in dwelling on something they couldn’t control. She smiled warmly at him, “I know, I was outside and heard you two talking.”

“Y’eavesdroppin’ on me now?” he snapped, dropping her hands.

“I wasn’t trying to,” Madison insisted, not liking the return of Daryl’s short temper. She knew he was most likely lashing out like this out of fear and she tried to let his cold glare roll off her back. “I was coming to check on you after that thing with Glenn and I heard you two talking and waited outside until you were finished. I couldn’t help overhearing. What happened? I heard you laughing, but when I came in you seemed so...I know it looks bad right now, Merle, the Governor...this,” she held up her arm to illustrate her point before taking a deep breath and continuing, “We’ll figure something out. We always do. Please believe me; everything’s going to be-”

“I ain’t a damn child!” Daryl shouted, cutting her off; his world was spiraling out of control and there was nothing he could do to stop it, just like there was nothing he could do to stop the frustration filling him from getting the better of him, “Ya don’t know if things’ll be ‘lright! Ya don’t know shit! I came back ‘ere fer ya an’ now we’re all gonna die here!”

Madison stared at Daryl, no longer caring why he was lashing out at her; she wanted to be understanding, but enough was enough. “No!” she fought back, “No, you came back here for you; you wanted to be back where you belonged. Those were your exact words! I’m sorry you think coming back here was a mistake, but do not try to blame me for your decision and don’t you dare yell at me for trying to make you feel better when I’m freaking out myself!” She jumped to her feet and threw her hands up in frustration, “I need to get out of here, I can’t do this with you. Not now. I’ve constantly been at war with someone for the past three days and I can’t take it anymore. Come find me when Daryl gets back, I’m done talking to mini-Merle!” She turned on her heel to storm away and tripped over his crossbow she hadn't noticed on the ground earlier. Flustered by her less than graceful attempt to leave, she quickly picked the bow off the floor and tossed it on the bed before moving towards the cell door.

Hearing Madison compare him to his brother brought Daryl to his feet; he hadn’t realized what came out of his mouth until she responded and he was filled with gut wrenching remorse and self-loathing. All they had was each other to lean on as they tried to weather the storm and he was pushing her away. There was no point denying it; Merle was bringing him down and he hated himself for attacking Madison once again because he couldn’t handle what he was feeling. “Maddie, hold up,” he begged, catching her by wrapping his arms around her waist to keep her from storming out, “I’m sorry. I’m ‘ere.” He moved her hair aside and kissed her cheek gently, careful not to hurt her, “I’m right ‘ere.” Madison fought with all her might to stay mad at the man behind her, but relaxed against her will in his arms, leaning back against his broad chest and exhaling deeply. Relieved that she was willing to stay, Daryl sighed against her skin and kissed her again. “Merle’s bad fer me, ain’t he?” he mumbled, admitting out loud for the first time something he already knew to be true.

Madison nodded slightly and covered his arms with her own, holding on to him tightly. “Yeah, he is,” she said in a barely audible whisper; she didn’t want to hurt him with the truth, but she couldn’t lie to him either, “But you’re good for him.” She heard Daryl scoff behind her and shook her head before continuing, “I’m serious. He saved my life yesterday, bet you didn’t know that. That’s a pretty remarkable change from holding a gun to my head a few days ago…”

The frustration in her voice and the scowl on her face as she shared this information made him chuckle, “What’s the matter, Buster? Ya mad ‘cause now ya gotta fergive ‘im?”

“Exactly,” she laughed, melting into the warmth of his embrace and finally feeling like she was home.

“Y’might even gotta like ‘im now,” Daryl teased in a deep whisper against her ear, smirking as she shivered against him.

To camouflage the effect his voice had on her Madison playfully elbowed his stomach. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, mister. We’ll see how the forgiveness thing turns out and go from there...it’s a lot harder to hate him now though,” she sulked, drawing a deep, throaty laugh from Daryl.

“Heard ya standin’ up fer ‘im earlier,” he said, kissing her shoulder and holding her tighter.

Madison gasped and turned around to face him. “You’re eavesdropping on me now?” she joked with a look of mock anger on her face.

“Y’always been such a smartass?” he chuckled, admiring the way she turned his outburst earlier into a joke.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck, “I kind of think that’s why you fell for me in the first place.”

“Maybe part of it.” He gazed into her golden brown eyes then tenderly brushed her hair off of her face with a soft smile. “Can’t believe ya’d fight fer ‘im. With e’eryone else wantin’ ‘im gone… An’ stickin’ by me even after ‘e…” His sentence faded away as he ran his fingertips along her face, barely touching her, relying on actions to say what his voice wouldn’t allow, “Jus’...thanks.”

“Stop,” she muttered as her gaze fell to the floor, “You don’t need to thank me for that. I shouldn’t have stayed behind in the first place. I’m sorry I hesitated, it’s just-”

“Shhh, don’t matter; I get why ya did.” Daryl gently put his hand beneath Madison’s chin and guided her face up so she’d look at him, “Ya changed yer mind, that’s what matters. Almost don’t count, remember?”

“How could I forget?” she asked in a breathy whisper, reaching up to kiss his cheek.

After everything the universe had put them through over the past several days, a kiss on the cheek wasn’t going to cut it for Daryl. He’d lost her twice and by some miracle they were together again. He turned his face and caught her mouth with his, kissing her deeply as his arms pulled her closer, finally able to have the reunion with the love of his life that they had been denied for so long. Madison smiled against Daryl’s lips as he kissed her, relishing the feeling of his lips against hers, her hands roaming his strong frame and clinging to him like a lifeline. A small whimper escaped Madison’s lips when Daryl broke the kiss. A devilish grin spread across his face when he saw the disappointment on her face and he began leaving a trail of kisses down the side of her neck, smirking against her skin as she said his name in a breathless whisper and tangled her fingers in his hair.

“Dad! Daryl!” Carl’s small voice suddenly echoed through the cellblock as he rushed inside, breaking the spell that had fallen on Daryl and Madison.

“Damn kid,” Daryl grumbled. He looked at Madison’s flushed cheeks and wide eyes and groaned as he placed one last kiss on her lips; their reunion would have to wait.

Forcing her heart rate to return to normal, Madison followed Daryl and ran down the stairs to find out what Carl was yelling about. “What’s going on?” she asked, still out of breath.

“It’s Andrea,” he answered, “Andrea’s here.”


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time again! I promised myself I wouldn't let two months go by again without and update and oops-life happened. Again. (To be fair I have been working on this story a lot...just not the chapter I was supposed to be working on haha.) I hope you all will forgive the long stretch between updates and that you haven't given up on me! Again, thank you to everyone who has stuck with me and continues to read and enjoy my story; I know I say it all the time, but your support means so much to me. I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Thank you again and, as always, I own no part of TWD-just Madison.

“Are you sure?” Madison sputtered, breaking the stunned silence filling the cellblock. Her initial reaction was relief that Andrea had managed to get away from Woodbury and its sadistic leader, but one look at the bitter scowl on Daryl’s face reminded her that this woman who was once one of them was, quite literally, sleeping with the enemy and was potentially dangerous.

“Was she alone?” Rick asked his son, glancing at Daryl and gauging his reaction.

“We didn’t see anyone else,” Carl said.

“That don’t mean they ain’t there,” Daryl mumbled as he bent down and cocked his crossbow.

Rick nodded, “She’s one of them now. We can’t take any chances.”

Madison’s eyes went wide, “You’re going to shoot her on sight? Rick…it’s Andrea.” Rick stared back at her, fed up with her questioning his decisions and making him second guess himself. “Please,” she begged. “See what she wants before you pull the trigger.”

Unwilling to waste any more time arguing, Rick took an aggravated step towards Madison and Daryl stepped forward, warning Rick to back away. “If she pulls somethin’ and we lose somebody else, it’s on you,” Rick growled at Madison before turning on his heel and running outside.

“She won’t,” Madison said firmly to Rick’s back. She could feel Daryl’s eyes on her, studying her closely, and she glanced at him, “She won’t.”

“Ya can’t know that, Buster,” he said with an exasperated huff, “Time t’face facts; she ain’t one of us no more.” Without waiting for a response Daryl took off after Rick with the others, including his brother, following close behind.

Madison pondered what Daryl told her for a fraction of a second, adjusting her grip on the semi-automatic in her hands; Daryl and Rick were right to be wary of Andrea, no one knew who she was anymore, but that didn’t mean she’d been wrong to convince Rick to take his finger off the trigger. She glanced at Hershel holding the baby, suddenly anxious because of his lack of mobility, “You okay in here with Judith?” Hershel answered with a nod and Madison was out the door, trailing behind the rest of the group by just a few steps.

The bright sun in the courtyard momentarily blinded Madison as she chased after the others, hearing Merle call out the all clear while she rushed down the stairs leading from the cellblock. As her eyes adjusted to the brightness they darted around her wildly, searching for any signs of the attack she was praying wouldn’t come and instead seeing those she cared about most in the world inching forward, clutching their weapons and on high alert as Andrea approached. Her stomach dropped at the trepidation on the faces surrounding her; how could she be so foolish to beg Rick to give Andrea another chance? How many times would she have to make the same mistake before she learned that giving people the benefit of the doubt was dangerous? She followed the group’s lead and stayed as low and as hidden as she could as she made her way forward, her gun trained on the gate in front of her, as she remembered all the times she’d given second chances only to wind up getting burned. Most of her memories revolved around Charles, but her most recent mistake, lowering her gun when Merle appeared at the store, refused to be ignored and she decided it was time to grow up and finally learn from her mistakes. It was one thing when her naive belief in the goodness of others only harmed her, but now it was hurting her family and she couldn’t bear it; she had to change.

“Are you alone?” Rick shouted, racing to the fence.

“Open the gate,” Andrea shouted back as she got closer, gripping a hatchet with one hand and an armless, jawless walker at the end of a snare pole with the other.

Rick threw his back against the fence, flattening himself against the chain link as much as possible, his law enforcement training coming to the surface. He snarled as he looked around him and yelled at Andrea again, “Are you alone?”

“Rick!” she cried, baffled that he wasn’t welcoming her back to the group with open arms.

Daryl made it to the gate and whistled to get Rick’s attention, holding out his hand for the keys. Rick consented to letting Andrea in with a nod to Daryl, throwing the keys to him and aiming his gun at her when his hands were free. Once Daryl unlocked the gate and Merle opened it Andrea shoved her leashed walker away from her and scurried inside before the walkers drawn to the gate by the yelling could get her.

“Hands up! Turn around!” Rick barked at Andrea the moment she was inside, storming towards her and backing her towards the fence.

“What?” she sputtered, dropping her hatchet and trying to get away from the furious man coming at her.

“Turn around now!” Rick growled, grabbing Andrea roughly by the shoulder, spinning her around, and ramming her into the fence so he could frisk her. Andrea let out a terrified yelp when a walker threw itself against the fence in front of her and tried to take a bite out of her. Rick yanked her from the fence and forced her to her knees, “Get down! On the floor!”

Madison grimaced as she watched Rick handle Andrea so violently and used every ounce of self-control she had to fight against her instincts and hold her tongue, telling herself repeatedly that they still didn’t know if they could trust her or not. From the corner of her eye she could see Daryl watching her and shaking his head at her; he knew her too well and knew the struggle she was having as she watched Rick continue frisking Andrea. She threw Daryl a sidelong glance and gave him a sharp nod, letting him know that she was in control of her emotions for once.

Satisfied that Andrea didn’t have any hidden weapons on her, Rick grabbed her by the arm and said in a harsh whisper, “I asked if you were alone.”

“I am,” Andrea replied weakly as Rick ripped her satchel bag from her shoulders and tossed it to the ground, far out of her reach. Andrea was stunned by what was happening and looked from person to person for an explanation or for someone to say something on her behalf to remind Rick that she was one of them. Her gaze finally landed on Madison, knowing that the woman she knew on the farm wouldn’t stand for a friend to be treated like this and would speak up. Madison could see the expectant look on the blonde’s face and her eyes fell to the ground, focusing intently on the hole she was digging with the toe of her boot; she was having a hard enough time with the situation and Andrea’s wounded stare was making it worse.

“Welcome back,” Rick sneered, grabbing Andrea by the arm again and pulling her to her feet, “Get up.”

Once she was standing Rick escorted Andrea inside, followed closely by everyone else. Daryl came to a stop and glanced around him when he realized Madison wasn’t with the rest of the group; he scanned the courtyard and caught of glimpse of her red hair as she took cover behind the overturned bleachers in the middle of the courtyard, resting her gun against one of the seats to steady her aim. “Maddie, get yer ass inside now. C’mon,” he called from the steps leading to the cellblock.

“No. If she lied and she’s not alone and her people saw Rick drag her inside…” she replied without so much as glancing in Daryl’s direction, her attention completely focused ahead of her. She put her eye to the scope on the gun and sighed, “Someone needs to stay on watch.”  

Daryl shook his head in exasperation as he ran across the courtyard and crouched beside Madison, “What good’s one person gonna do against that bastard’s whole army, huh?” She glanced at Daryl, but didn’t respond, ignoring the truthfulness behind his question, and looked forward again, jaw set in determination. He sighed and shouldered his crossbow and gently took the gun from Madison’s hands. “Let’s go; ain't gonna let yer damn stubborn streak getcha killed.” Madison threw a withering glare at Daryl and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at her reaction. “Inside, move it,” he grumbled, taking her by the arm and guiding her to her feet and only giving her back her gun when they reached the stairs.

“You were right,” she whispered as she took the gun from Daryl, her eyes still scanning their surroundings, looking for signs of an imminent attack. Her gaze fell on Daryl’s face and she saw the confusion in his eyes and she explained herself with a sigh, “We can’t trust her. I’m glad we didn’t kill her, that's not who we are-it can’t be, but we can’t trust her, can we?”

Daryl’s heart broke as he stared into the golden brown eyes he loved so much and saw the turmoil and defeat they held as Madison came to terms with the loss of yet another part of the world she knew, of herself. “Sorry, Buster,” he mumbled as he answered her question with a shake of his head, doing what little he could to comfort her by caressing her back. She hung her head and nodded; she knew he was right, but she was hoping for a different answer. Daryl reached around her and opened the door to the cellblock for her, eager to get her inside and out of harm’s way in case the Governor and his men were getting ready to attack.

Everyone else was already inside by the time Daryl and Madison made it into the common room. As they walked down the stairs Madison watched Carol greet Andrea with a warm embrace and her paced slowed; if Carol could find the middle ground and be happy to see Andrea while still being on guard, why couldn’t she? She felt like she was in a situation with no room for a gray area, but she longed to find a sliver of middle ground to stand on, hating having to choose a side between such two drastic extremes. Carol hadn’t been to Woodbury, she hadn’t seen firsthand what the Governor was capable of, she’d only seen the tip of the iceberg, Madison reasoned in a feeble attempt to make herself feel better about the side she’d chosen. Andrea on the other hand knew exactly what this man had done and still chose to stay by his side, clearly she was a threat; Carol just couldn’t see it yet. Daryl rested his hand on the small of Madison’s back and ushered her forward, guiding her over to one of the tables bolted to the floor of the common room. He sat on the edge of the tabletop and threw his leg up on the bench in front of him with a grunt, never taking his skeptical gaze off of Andrea as Madison took a seat on the bench and leaned against his leg, desperately craving the comfort and resolve she could only draw from her strong and steady redneck.

“Hershel, what…” Andrea gasped when she looked up and saw his crutches. As she released Carol she scanned the dingy room and the members of her former group now surrounding her, shocked by the terrible conditions they now called home. “I can’t believe this,” she muttered, doing a hasty headcount as she looked around, “Where’s Shane?” Her eyes fell on Rick, looking for answers; the only response he gave was a curt shake of the head as his eyes fell to the floor. “And Lori?” she pressed and once again Rick’s eyes fell to the floor, only this time the pain he felt was easily visible in his expression.

“She had a girl. Lori didn’t survive,” Hershel volunteered, giving Andrea more information.

“Neither did T-Dog,” Carol added quietly.

Andrea looked from face to face of the people she used to call her family and saw the toll these deaths were taking on them, “I’m so sorry.” She turned to Carl, her heart breaking for him, and she took a small step forward wanting to offer him some comfort, “Carl...” She stopped short when his expression didn’t change and he continued to stare coldly back at her. Shaking her head, Andrea realized that Carl was no longer the little boy she knew in Atlanta or on the farm; he’d grown in the months they’d been separated, he’d become just as hard as the rest of the group. “Rick, I…” she began without knowing how she was going to finish her sentence as she tore her attention from Carl and moved a step closer to his father who stepped back and refused to make eye contact with her, jaw clenched as he fought to keep his emotions in check. Realizing she was only making matters worse by trying to show the Grimes family sympathy for their loss, Andrea looked around the group once again, hoping to catch someone’s eye, and asked, “You all live here?”

Madison’s body tensed at Andrea’s question and she shot the blonde a contemptuous glare, suspicious of why she cared where they were living and wondering if she was simply gathering intel to take back to the Governor so he’d know where to aim his next attack. Daryl felt every muscle in Madison’s body tighten against his leg and he placed his strong hand on her shoulder to steady her.

“Here and the cellblock,” Glenn answered, oblivious to the irate scowl on Madison’s face as he freely volunteered the information.

Andrea faced Glenn and pointed through the doors to their cellblock, “There?” Glenn answered with a slight nod. “Well, can I go in?” Andrea asked, turning away from him and towards the cellblock.

“Why?” Madison snapped, staring Andrea down, “You can see well enough from where you are; you know what a prison looks like.”

Andrea looked Madison in the eye, slack jawed, stunned that she was being just as cold and unforgiving as the others, “I just want to see.”

“So I ask again; why?”

Disregarding Madison’s defensive tone, Andrea turned away from her and started walking towards the door. Daryl tensed and started to stand so he could stop her from going into their living quarters, but settled back in when Rick stepped in front of her, bringing her to a stop, “I won’t allow that.”

“I’m not an enemy. Rick,” Andrea countered.

“But you’re sleeping with him,” Madison spat, “That doesn’t exactly scream that you’re on our side.”

“Easy, Buster,” Daryl whispered, running his hand up and down her arm in hopes of calming her down before she said something she’d truly end up regretting. He knew she was trying to face the reality of their situation head on, but in her heart she was still the same open, caring woman she’d always been and he wanted to protect her from herself.

Andrea stared daggers at Madison until Rick pulled her attention away from the fuming redhead. “We had that field and courtyard,” he explained, his voice harsh as he gestured outside, “until your boyfriend tore down the fence with a truck and shot us up.”

Andrea shook her head as her mind reeled from this new piece of information. “He said you fired first,” she finally said weakly.

“Well he’s lyin’.”

“He killed an inmate who survived in here,” Hershel added, hoping to make Andrea see the truth about the Governor.

“We liked ‘im,” Daryl said, watching Andrea closely through narrowed eyes and determining if she was telling them the truth or not, “’e was one of us.”

The color drained from Andrea’s face as she met Daryl’s stern, analytical gaze and removed the hand covering her mouth, holding it near her face as the shock wore off and she was able to speak, “I didn’t know anything about that.” She tore her eyes from Daryl and looked at the others surrounding her, eventually focusing across the room on Glenn and Maggie, “As soon as I found out, I came. I didn’t even know you were in Woodbury until after the shoot-out.”

“That was days ago,” Glenn tersely pointed out, the anger still burning inside him easily heard in his voice.

“I told you, I came as soon as I could.” Dumbfounded, Andrea spun around and glared and Michonne who was casually leaning against the holding cell, meeting Andrea’s glare. “What have you told them?” the blonde demanded.

“Nothing,” Michonne replied, the edge in her voice hinting at the storm brewing below her eerily clam exterior.

Andrea took a step back and gaped at the group, “I don’t get it. I left Atlanta with you people an-and now I’m the odd man out?”

“He almost killed Michonne and he would’ve killed us…”

“With his finger on the trigger!” Andrea interrupted Glenn, raising her voice and pointing at Merle standing at the top of the steps next to the door leading out of the cellblock. “Isn’t he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you?”

“You think he just decided to do that, on what? A whim? No, think long and hard about who gave him his instructions!” Madison cried, her frustrations getting the better of her as she had to sit there and listen to Andrea describe what had happened to them after she had admitted to not knowing anything about it.

Madison’s outburst took Andrea aback and she paused long enough to take a breath before responding. “Madison…” she groaned, wearily putting her hands to her face and swallowing her exasperation as she turned to address the rest group, “Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done. But I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out!”

“There’s nothin’ to work out,” Rick said flatly, taking a step towards Andrea, “We’re gonna kill him. I don’t know how or when, but we will.”

“We can settle this,” she replied, steadily meeting Rick’s gaze, “There is room at Woodbury for all of you.”

Merle broke his silence with a humorless chuckle, “Y’know better than that.”

“What makes you think this man wants to negotiate? Did he say that?” Hershel pressed, doing his best to see all possible outcomes from Andrea’s visit.

She paused and dropped her eyes to the floor, “No.”

“Then why did you come here?” Rick asked, not trying to hide the aggravation in his voice.

“Because he’s gearing up for war,” Andrea responded, standing her ground, “The people are terrified. They see you as killers. They’re training to attack.”

“I’ll tell ya what; next time ya see Philip,” Daryl said, spitting the Governor’s name out with disdain. His eyes fell to Madison’s arm resting on his leg;  zeroing in on the bandage on her wrist rage flowed through his veins as he thought about everything she’d been through because of this man. He pulled his eyes from Madison and glared at Andrea once again, “Ya tell ‘im I’m gonna take ‘is other eye.”

Glenn jumped on board with Daryl’s threat and added, “We’ve taken too much shit for too long. He wants a war? He’s got one.”

Andrea stared at Glenn in disbelief; this wasn’t the same group of people she knew on the farm. She turned to the leader in hopes of talking some sense into him, “Rick, if you don’t sit down and try to work this out…I don’t know what’s going to happen!” Rick’s expression was indiscernible and she looked away from him and her eyes scanned the group once again, “Look at you. You’ve lost so much already. You can’t stand alone anymore.”

“You wanna make this right?” Rick asked, stepping closer to Andrea, “Get us inside.”

“No.”

“Then we got nothin’ to talk about,” Rick growled, pushing past Andrea and storming away.

“There are innocent people!” Andrea called after Rick as he disappeared into the prison. She wearily ran her hands over her face, in utter disbelief of how poorly her visit had gone; she’d really had herself convinced that she could bring the two groups together without issue.

The group slowly dispersed and people went about their normal routine, all but ignoring Andrea’s presence in the prison. Madison stood with a huff and grabbed her gun off the floor; with a fleeting glance at Daryl she mumbled, “I know you don’t like it, but I don’t care; I’m taking watch.” She gave Andrea an icy, sidelong glare and added, “Someone has to watch out for the innocent people in here.”

“Jus’ be smart an’ stay covered, ‘kay Buster?” he whispered as he stood and lightly brushed her arm. She nodded at him and he grunted in reply before leaving in search of Rick. Madison sighed and turned to leave the safety of the prison, keeping her eyes straight ahead and avoiding glancing in Andrea’s direction at all costs.

“So that finally happened, huh? You and Daryl,” Andrea said quietly as Madison sped past her, looking for a way to break the ice so she could have a chance to make peace with her former friend.

Madison stopped abruptly when Andrea started prying into her personal life, insulted that she thought she could use her relationship with Daryl as a way to get information from her. Even when they were on the best of terms at the farm, Madison never discussed him with Andrea. “What?” she snarled.

“I could tell  by the way you two were sitting...when did he finally make a move?”

“Sorry,” Madison said, rolling her eyes and moving forward again, “I don’t have time to crack open a bottle of wine and dish about boys; I have to go make sure your friends don’t swing by again.”

“Madison, wait,” Andrea blurted as she caught hold of Madison’s arm and brought her to a stop again. Madison looked Andrea in the eye and gave her an exasperated huff as she waited for her to make her point. “That’s not what I meant; I just wanted to break the ice a little bit. It worked, you’re talking to me.”

A halfhearted laugh escaped Madison against her will and she struggled to keep her walls up, “Lucky you, I’m such a joy right now. Okay, you’ve got me talking to you; what did you want to say?”

“You have to believe me; I had no idea you were being held in Woodbury, any of you, and as far as what happened here…I don’t know what to say, I was told you fired first.”

“But you know us, did that really sound like something we’d do? How could you just blindly believe him like that?”

Andrea glanced down to the floor and folded her arms, “Why wouldn’t I believe him? What would he have to gain by lying?”

“A group of terrified people ready to kill his enemies for him so he doesn’t have to get his hands dirty.” Madison shook her head and looked over Andrea’s shoulder and mumbled under her breath, “Not that he has a problem getting his hands dirty.”

“Phillip’s far from perfect, but there are good people in Woodbury,” Andrea insisted.

“Okay, Andrea,” Madison scoffed, throwing her free hand up in the air and taking a step away from Andrea, fed up with her continual defense of Woodbury and its people.

“Good people who think their lives are in danger so they’re preparing to fight back,” Andrea barked, stepping in front of Madison to keep her from walking away, “You guys aren’t innocent, you know. People died in Woodbury that night.”

This conversation with Andrea wasn’t going anywhere, Madison could see that, but she couldn’t let accusations like that get tossed around without defending Rick and the others. They were there that night, risking their lives, to save Maggie, Glenn, and herself. Daryl was captured and almost killed because of her and she wouldn’t stand silent and let him be portrayed as a murderer. “The only reason anyone died is because we were fighting for our lives; trying to make it out of that place in one piece after getting kidnapped and beaten! We were trying to keep Daryl and Merle from killing each other for sport while the Governor and that town full of good people cheered them on.” Madison’s eyes locked with Andrea’s and she took a small step closer to this woman she used to know so well; she softened her tone and rested her hand on the blonde’s shoulder, pleading with her to see what was staring her in the face, “How can you defend a man like that? How can you stay with him?”

The sudden change in Madison’s demeanor startled Andrea and she fumbled for the right words to express what Madison and the rest of the group couldn’t seem to grasp. “I know Philip’s made some bad calls, but so has Rick. Woodbury took me in when they didn’t have to; for better or worse I’m a part of them now.” Madison’s eyes fell to the floor, reminding herself that Andrea wouldn’t have been caught in the Governor’s trap if she hadn’t been left behind the night the farm fell. Seeing the remorse in the redhead’s expression, Andrea continued with a sad, kind smile, “I’m not blaming you and I’m not picking sides. I’m just playing the hand I’ve been dealt.”

“You can’t save everyone; maybe it’s time to pick a side. Just be sure you’re siding with the right people.”

Mistaking Madison’s plea as a threat of sorts; Andrea crossed her arms and stared at her, “Let me guess? You’re the right people?”

“I can’t make that decision for you, but yeah, we are,” Madison answered, rapidly putting her defenses back up after Andrea snapped at her. “And I think you know that or you wouldn’t be here.” She took a step back and shook her head; she tried to have a rational discussion with Andrea and let her guard down for a moment, but that had been the wrong call, they were right back where they started. “Look, I can’t stay here much longer. I’m glad you’re safe,” she took another step before stopping and adding softly, “And I’m sorry about the reception you got, but you get it, right? You get why we’re suspicious of you.”

“Honestly, no. Not with Merle living here.”

It didn’t surprise Madison to hear that Andrea was confused by Merle’s presence in the prison and she took a moment to carefully choose her words before responding. “It hasn’t been easy on anyone. It’s no secret the Governor wants him dead, so we do not have to worry about him going to go back to Woodbury with information about us that could only come from getting inside the fences,” Madison shot Andrea a wary look, “But I think what it came down to is that he chose his brother, chose us, over the Governor that night in Woodbury and again when he saved my life and Rick’s when the Governor attacked.” She met Andrea’s eyes and asked sincerely, “Are you choosing us?” Andrea stood silently in front of Madison, answering her question without words. “Exactly.” With a sad smile and shrug, Madison walked past Andrea. It was killing her to leave things with Andrea on such a negative note and she came to a stop on the stairs leading outside and turned back to the blonde woman standing alone in the common room, “You know we did make room here for Merle, even after…everything. We can make room for you too.”

A tiny smile pulled at the corner of Andrea’s mouth as Madison extended her invitation, “I’d like that. Maybe after all this blows over. They need me.”

“So do we,” Madison said as she turned her back on Andrea and opened the door before pausing and looking over her shoulder, “I really am glad you’re okay, we all are. I hope you know that.”

“You too, Madison.”

Tears began to sting Madison’s eyes and she quickly left the room before they could escape. She composed herself as she cautiously made her way across the courtyard and up to the catwalk. The stillness of the courtyard was broken by the creaking of the heavy metal door to the cellblock and the sound of people; Madison jumped and whipped around and watched the others escort Andrea away from the prison. She had no idea how long she’d been on watch, but guessed that is had to be a couple of hours at least. An old, dusty police car pulled up to the group and Glenn got out before Andrea stepped towards it, glancing around the group as she sank into the driver’s seat and closed the door. Rick leaned into the open window and handed her what Madison thought looked like a gun and a faint smile pulled at the corner of her mouth for a moment. Rick didn’t have to give Andrea a gun or the spare car they found parked in the prison yard, even though he was harsh with Andrea when she first got there, he still cared about her and wanted her to be safe. Madison’s mind flashed to just a few days ago when she left the group to look for Daryl; she’d hurt Rick by leaving, but he offered her a way to protect herself as well. He was still a good man and she took comfort knowing she’d aligned with good people..

Rick stepped away from the car and Andrea slowly pulled up to the gate. While she waited for Merle to open it for her, she glanced up to the catwalk and noticed Madison watching her. Madison met Andrea’s gaze and gave her a small, sad smile and a nod, the only sort of goodbye she could give from her perch. Merle called to Andrea and she pulled forward, giving Madison a quick nod in return before turning her attention to where she was driving. Everyone stayed outside and watched Andrea weave through the walker infested yard and drive away, only returning inside when she was out of sight.

Once night fell the group congregated in the cellblock, with the exception of Carl who had taken over on watch, and sat in silence, the weight of their predicament and Andrea’s visit weighing heavily on everyone’s mind. The tense atmosphere in the cellblock was suffocating and Madison’s leg bounced up and down, releasing her anxieties the only way she could as she sat next to Maggie on the steps leading to the upper level of cells. Finally the silence and her nerves became too much for her to handle and she pushed herself up from the steps with a groan and walked over to Daryl who was across the cellblock and leaning against the wall next to Hershel. Not wanting to interrupt their hushed conversation, Madison quietly came around to Daryl’s left side and wrapped her arms through his and rested her head on his shoulder without a word; nothing needed to be said at the moment, she just wanted to be close to him. Daryl glanced down at her when she joined him. The troubled lines embedded in her forehead concerned him and he gently pressed his lips to the top of her head, “Ya hangin’ in there?”

“Sort of,” she sighed, holding on tighter to the man beside her, the way she turned on Andrea earlier still eating away at her. “I don’t like who I’m becoming.”

“I know, Buster,” he groaned, understanding exactly how she was feeling. He was still on the fence about Andrea’s motives for coming to the prison, but at the same time he felt guilty for the way things went down while she was here. He covered Madison’s small hand that was holding on to his forearm with his free hand, “I know.”

Silence overtook the cellblock once again for a few minutes until Beth decided, out of the blue, to start singing softly for the group. Normally Madison enjoyed listening to Beth sing, it made her forget for a moment how much she missed music, but tonight it rubbed her the wrong way. An irritated scowl covered her face and she forced herself to look away from Beth so the young girl wouldn’t see and get her feelings hurt. She was so wrapped up in, unsuccessfully, trying to block out Beth’s singing she didn’t notice Rick had joined them, carrying his sleeping daughter, until Daryl asked, “Some reunion, huh?”

“She’s in a jam,” Rick muttered, glancing at Daryl and then looking back to Judith’s peaceful face.

“We all are,” Hershel added, looking ahead of him and watching his youngest daughter sing, “Andrea’s persuasive. This fella’s armed to the teeth; bent on destruction.”

Madison let out a defeated sigh; everything Hershel was saying was true, she just didn’t need to be reminded of it right now. Daryl heard her sigh and turned to Rick, determined to figure out a plan to keep the woman clinging to his arm safe. “S’whaddya wanna do?”

“He’s got more people, more guns, more…everything,” Madison grumbled with a dark chuckle, “What can we do?”

“We’ll match it,” Rick said firmly, “I’m goin’ on a run.”

“Where?” she asked, “Anyplace that had enough weapons to match what he has must’ve been cleared ages ago, probably by him.”

A reassuring expression took over Rick’s face as he tried to convince Madison that he could keep them alive, “I doubt he made it as far as my old station.”

“Jus’ tell us how t’get there an’ we’ll head out t’morrow,” Daryl said, glancing down and catching Madison’s eye to let her know by “we” he meant the two of them. The thought of leaving the prison again not even forty-eight hours after coming back to the group didn’t appeal to Daryl, but he was anxious to prove he was still a valuable member of the group and it would be a cold day in hell before he left Madison alone to fend off the Governor so he had no choice but to volunteer her to go with him.

Rick shook his head, looking at Daryl and Madison, “No, you two stay here. Keep an eye on your brother.” Daryl nodded as his eyes quickly darted to Merle; he was happy to see that Merle wasn’t locked in the common room anymore, but he was still separating himself from the group and staying on the outskirts like Daryl used to. Rick spoke again and Daryl turned his attention to their leader once again. “I’m glad you’re back, both of you, really. But if he causes a problem, it’s on you.”

“I got ‘im,” Daryl replied with a nod, his voice tight.

Accepting Daryl’s insistence that he could manage his brother, Rick added, “I’ll take Michonne.”

“Ya sure that’s a good idea?” Daryl asked, warily watching the temporary addition to their group.

“I’ll find out,” Rick shrugged, “And Carl. He’s ready. You hold it down here.”

Daryl nodded, “Y’got it.”

The realization that Rick was gearing the group up for war slowly sank into Madison’s mind and an overwhelming sense of dread washed over her. She looked at the newborn Rick was holding and the worn down, broken people sitting around the cellblock. Her eyes landed on Hershel as he adjusted his weight on his crutches; there was no possible way they would survive another attack, even if they had enough guns and ammo. Madison could feel her chest starting to tighten and she squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to focus on breathing slowly. Now that Rick wasn’t talking anymore she was acutely aware that Beth was still singing and she abruptly let go of Daryl’s arm and rushed upstairs to get away from the sound, ignoring Maggie calling after her as she ran by.

Madison darted into her cell, hoping to find sanctuary from the reality of their situation, but the empty, quiet cell only managed to take away the few distractions she’d had downstairs leaving her completely alone with her mind running wild. Her anxieties and frustrations mounted and she started to pace in the small space, running her hands through her hair and clasping them around the back of her neck as she tried to calm herself down.

“Maddie! What the hell was th-“ Daryl called before he reached their cell, stopping short in the doorway when he saw her pacing back and forth, muttering to herself. “Y’alright?”

The question brought Madison’s pacing to a stop as she glanced at the man leaning in the doorway, watching her closely. She answered with a shake of her head and gestured beyond the cell door. “Why is Beth singing?” she hissed, “What does she have to be singing about right now?”

“Beats the hell outta me, Buster.”

Madison ran her hands through her hair and started pacing again, “Don’t get me wrong; you know I love her to death, but sometimes I just can’t handle how...naive she can be. She needs to grow up.”

“What’s goin’ on with ya t’night?” Daryl asked, folding his arms across his chest and nibbling on the tip of his thumb as he studied her. He tried to see where she was coming from, but he couldn’t understand how she went from melancholy to manic in a matter of minutes. His eyes darted to her bandaged wrists and his blood ran cold; with the chaos surrounding Andrea’s visit he’d forgotten about the possibility that something worse than dirt had gotten into her system. Jim, a man from the Atlanta camp who literally hadn’t crossed Daryl’s mind in months, suddenly consumed his thoughts. All he could think about was how hysterical Jim became after he got bit and the fever set in. “Ya feelin’ okay?” Daryl asked, closing the distance between them and forcing Madison to stop moving so he could check her for a fever. “When’d ya take them pills Hershel gave ya last?”

“What? Earlier when he looked me over, I haven’t had a chance to take more…” Madison shot Daryl an irritated glare when she realized why he was asking her these questions and slapped his hands away, “I’m fine! I’m not freaking out because I’m turning! It-it’s just...she doesn’t have to fill the silence, you know? With everything going on it’s okay for us to be worried, to be quiet. It’s-it’s like she doesn’t understand how completely screwed we are!”

“C’mon Maddie; quit bullshittin’ me,” he said, “Beth’s karaoke routine’s annoyin’, I’ll give ya that, but what’s really eatin’ ya?”

“We can’t take on the Governor!” she blurted, her uncensored honestly taking her by surprise, “Even if tomorrow Rick comes back with an entire armory’s worth of weapons we don’t stand a chance. Daryl, people are going to die...and we’ve lost so many already.”

A sympathetic expression took over Daryl’s face as he finally got to the root of what was bothering Madison. “We’ve been in tough spots b’fore an’ we came out on top.”

“This is different! Before our tough spots have been not having enough food or getting run out by walkers, having to sleep on the ground in an inch snow; but people are far more dangerous than all that combined. Look at the group. We’re so rundown. We’re weak. There’s no way we can win. Not like this.” Madison looked into the eyes of the man she loved and a new realization hit her, “You and I have beaten the odds so many times...our luck’s bound to run out eventually.”

“Whaddya mean?”

Madison tore her eyes away from Daryl’s and she stared at the ground, wrapping her arms around herself and whispering slowly as if each word cut into her soul as it left her mouth, “I don’t think both of us will make it out alive this time.”

“Shutl up!” he snapped without meaning to; he knew Madison was right, the chances that everything would work out weren’t good, but it was a truth he wasn’t ready to face. The idea of him dying and not being there for her, to protect her, cut like a knife, but what hurt him even more was the thought of her being killed; that idea all but crippled him. He knew she’d be all right without him, she was strong, she was survivor, she’d make it, he didn’t doubt that for a second; but he wasn’t so sure he’d survive without her. “Please don’t talk like that,” he said, softening his tone and taking both of her hands in his.

Madison sighed and let his flare-up roll off her back, understanding that what she said must have been as painful for him to hear as it was for her to say. “You know as well as I do that as soon as the Governor sees either of us we’re as good as dead.”

“Then we don’t let that bastard see us.”

The determination in Daryl’s voice coaxed a sad smile onto Madison’s lips; she appreciated the sentiment, but the reality of the situation refused to be ignored. “I wish it was that simple,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. With a heavy, defeated sigh she let go of Daryl’s hands and pushed her hair out of her face as she started pacing again, “This is all on me. Oscar, Axel, Glenn, Maggie...if I hadn’t pushed for us to check out that last store, if we’d just left like Glenn wanted none of this would be happening.” She stopped pacing and sank onto the bunk and wrapped her arms around herself tightly again as her voice cracked, “My life isn’t worth all this. I should’ve just taken those shots, let whatever was going to happen to me happen and shot him when I had the chance. Then the Governor’d be dead and this would all be over. Two men are dead and two of my closest friends have been tortured; I’m not worth this.”

“Knock that off, y’hear me? Stop it.” Daryl joined her on the bed and tenderly cupped her cheek, directing her face towards his and searching for any sign that she was listening to him, “Yer life’s worth jus’ as much as anybody’s; keepin’ yerself alive ain’t nothin’ t’be ashamed of.” Madison scoffed and looked down, unable to handle the intensity burning in Daryl’s eyes. “This ain’t yer fault; it was jus’ a mattera time ‘til that jackass found us anyways, but now we can fight back.” A heavy silence took over the cell as Madison digested what Daryl was telling her and she eventually nodded her head, conceding that maybe the situation they found themselves in wasn’t entirely her fault. Relief washed over Daryl; they were in for a fight and he needed Madison to believe she was worth fighting for so she’d try to make it out alive. “Won’t lie t’ya; we’re in deep shit, but we’re gonna make it. All of us.” Madison stared at the ground in front of her and nodded mechanically at Daryl’s words, hoping she could make herself believe him. “Maddie, will ya look at me?” he asked, draping his arm around her shoulders and shaking her gently. When she finally met his gaze he continued, “I mean it. All of us; y’an’ me’re gonna be fine. I promise. Ain’t gonna lose ya; not like this.”

“You can’t promise that,” Madison said quietly, wiping away an unwanted tear as it ran down her cheek.

“Jus’ trus’ me, ‘lright?” Without waiting for a response, Daryl drew Madison to him and held her close, cradling her against his chest and running his fingers through her hair. He pressed his lips her forehead then rested his chin on the top of her head, “Anybody dumb ‘nough t’try an’ get t’ya’s gotta go through me.”

Madison shook her head against him and sat up so she could see his face, resting her hand over his heart and dreading the moment it would stop beating, knowing it could happen very soon in light of the looming battle. “That’s what I’m worried about,” she breathed, “I don’t want you to do something stupid because of me.”

“I know,” he murmured, brushing her face with his fingertips, “But that ain’t gonna stop me.”

“Daryl,” she groaned, “You need to look at the bigger picture; the group needs you more than they need-“

The last word of Madison’s sentence was muffled by Daryl’s rough, calloused fingers lightly pressed against her soft, full lips. “I know what yer gonna say an’ I don’t wanna hear it.” His clear blue eyes danced across Madison’s face, drinking her in and trying to sear her features into his memory. “Maddie, if yer right,” he began, his deep, husky voice making her heart race in spite of the whirlwind of concerns cluttering her mind. He took his fingers from her lips and tucked her hair behind her ear then rested his hand where her neck and shoulders met, “I sure as hell ain’t gonna waste what time we got arguin’.”

In one swift movement Daryl attacked Madison’s mouth with his, pouring every emotion he’d felt since she was captured into one kiss and she eagerly soaked them all in. She slipped her arms around his broad shoulders and held him tightly as he eased her onto her back. Daryl pulled back, breaking the kiss, and held himself above Madison, looking deeply into the warm brown eyes of the woman beneath him. He took a deep breath to muster the courage to say the words that shouldn’t have still been difficult for him to say out loud. Blocking out Merle’s voice in his head telling him to stop letting this girl turn him into such a pussy he finally managed to say in a low, gravelly whisper, “I love ya, Madison.”

A large smile brightened Madison’s face as she reached up and brushed his hair off his forehead, momentarily amazed by how much it had grown since they met. “I love you too,” she said quietly, taking advantage of the opportunity to tell Daryl how she felt while she still had the chance and to do so without embarrassing him. She raised her head off the bed and kissed him again, sliding her hands down his chest and unbuttoning his shirt.

The strain of the next several days was unbearable for the small group as they strove to keep as low to the ground as possible, tensing at every sound and taking aim at any movement beyond the fences that caught their eye. Rick, Michonne, and Carl came back from their run with a surprisingly large number of weapons, including a new crossbow for Daryl. In light of why the weapons were needed Daryl held back any reaction beyond a slight nod, but Madison couldn’t help but notice the gleam in his eyes as he inspected his new treasure and she wished circumstances were different so he could fully enjoy it. Rick didn’t say much about where the weapons and ammo came from, only that he ran into an old friend, the man he owed his life to, but he wasn’t the same man he was a year ago; he’d come unhinged after he lost his son and refused to join the group. He tried to keep it quiet, but Madison saw Hershel treating Rick’s fresh stab wound and found herself wondering what sort of “friend” this man was.

What unnerved Madison even more than the violent mystery man, who had enough weapons on hand to supply a small army, was the cryptic invitation Rick received to meet with the Governor and discuss a truce. The whole arrangement felt wrong to her; the Governor wasn’t the sort of man to back down from a fight and she was convinced it was a trap. In the message Rick was told the Governor would be bringing two of his men for “support” and Rick was welcome to do the same. Madison fought with everything she had to be allowed to go as part of Rick’s backup team instead of Hershel who was still healing, but as soon as Daryl caught wind of what she was trying to do he put his foot down and refused to let her join them. The argument between the couple over Daryl’s decision was brutal and after he made it clear he wasn’t going to budge  Madison gave him the cold shoulder for the better part of a day before swallowing her pride and apologizing, not wanting to still be fighting when he left in case she was right and the unthinkable happened. Daryl was relieved they made up, but nothing would’ve changed even if she’d stayed mad at him; all he cared about was keeping her safe and as far away from the Governor as possible. He would never admit it to her, but he shared her suspicions and was afraid the meeting was a ruse and that he and the others might not come back; he didn’t want Madison to be hurt or killed and if things fell apart he wanted to spare her the sight of him being gunned down in front of her.

The day of the meeting arrived and Rick, Daryl, and Hershel left early in the morning, hoping to get to the meeting place before the Governor so he and his men wouldn’t get the jump on them. The moment the gate closed behind them Madison’s stomach was in knots and nothing she could do would distract her from the gnawing fear in the back of her mind that these three men were heading into an ambush and once they were dead the Governor and his troops would make their way to the prison to finish the job. The atmosphere in the common room was understandably tense as she worked alongside Michonne and Maggie, sorting through the weapons they had in silence. She tuned out Glenn as he gave orders to Carl and Beth to stash extra ammo around the prison and focused on inspecting and loading the guns Rick brought back from his run a few days ago. 

“What we should be doin’ is loadin’ some of this firepower in a truck an’ payin’ a visit t’the Governor.” Merle’s voice caught Madison of guard and she forced herself to pay more attention to what was going on around her. “We know where ‘e is right now,” Merle added, standing off to the side and staring at Glenn, waiting for the younger man to jump on board with his idea.

“Are you suggesting that we just go in and kill him?” Glenn asked, not bothering to hide his disdain for the older Dixon brother.

“Yeah, I am.”

Michonne glared at Merle, “We told Rick and Daryl that we’d stay put.”

“I’ve changed m’mind, sweetheart. Bein’ on the sidelines with m’brother out there…ain’t sitting right with me.”

“Staying here while they’re out there isn’t sitting right with any of us,” Madison pointed out, struggling to keep her own frustrations with being left behind out of her voice so she wouldn’t add to the tension in the room. “But like it or not, this is what we all agreed on,” she added under her breath, staring intently at the gun in her hands and not at anyone else around her.

Merle scoffed at her, “I didn’t agree t’nothin’.” Madison couldn’t shake the feeling of someone’s eyes on her and glanced up, meeting Merle’s invasive gaze, “Don’t think ya did either; did ya, princess?” She quickly dropped her eyes and focused on loading the gun she was fumbling with, unwilling to give Merle any sort of response and hating how easily the Dixon men could read her.

Glenn shot Madison a scathing sidelong glance, afraid that she would side with Merle and make things worse. When she didn’t take Merle’s bait Glenn fixed his eyes on the older man, “The three of them are right in the middle of it. No idea we’re coming. They could get taken hostage or killed. A thousand things could go wrong.” Glenn turned his back on Merle, ending the discussion, and walked towards the door to go outside and work on securing the cage surrounding the entrance to the cellblock, blowtorch in hand.

“An’ they will,” Merle threw at Glenn as he walked away.

“My dad can take care of himself,” Carl told Merle, squaring his shoulders and looking Merle in the eye before turning to leave.

Merle called after him, “Sorry, son, but yer dad’s head could be on a pike real soon.”

All eyes in the room darted to Madison after she slammed the gun she was holding down onto the metal table with a clang; she hardly noticed the shocked expressions surrounding her as she glared at Merle, furious with him for saying something so cruel to a child who was still dealing with the loss of his mother barely a week ago. “You mean alongside Daryl’s, right? Because everything you say about Rick can be said about your brother. Still want to keep talking?”

“Kid’s gotta learn ‘is dad ain’t bulletproof; one day ‘e ain’t gonna come back.”

“Merle!” Madison cried, watching Carl turn back towards the doors to leave with slumped shoulders. Once he was out the door Madison faced Merle again, “What’s wrong with you? What broke inside your brain to make you think that was necessary?”

“That’s funny comin’ from the bitch talkin’ ‘bout my lil’ brother dyin’!”

“To make a point that clearly went miles over your head!”

“Stop yellin’,” Beth begged quietly. Madison took a deep breath and ran her hand through her hair, holding the strands of red out of her face as she tried to control herself, finally admitting to herself that she wasn’t handling her anxieties about Daryl’s welfare very well after all.

Maggie watched the redhead standing next to her from the corner of her eye for a moment before addressing Merle, her tone calm, but firm to remind him he was in the wrong, not Madison, “You don’t say that to him, don’t say anythin’ to him. That boy’s been through enough.” Merle stared at Maggie and held his hand up with a slight tilt of his head as if to say he heard her, but he wasn’t sorry.

“It’s not the right move. Not now. Can’t take the risk of putting them in the crossfire,” Glenn insisted, putting the issue to rest, “That’s my decision. It’s final.” Before anyone had a chance to say anything else, he left, ignoring the irritated way Merle shook his head after him.

The group fell silent again, the strain in the room nearly tangible. Madison glanced around her and did a quick headcount, “Wait...who’s on guard duty?”

“Wouldn’t worry yer pretty lil’ head ‘bout it, darlin’,” Merle said with a dark chuckle, “Havin’ someone on watch’r not ain’t gonna make a damn bit of difference when the Governor rolls up again. That’s why we gotta-”

“Glenn said no,” Madison snapped, interrupting him, “With Rick and Daryl gone he’s in charge so drop it.” She glanced around her once again and made her way towards the door, addressing the group as she climbed the stairs, “I’ll take watch in the tower. It might not do much, but a little warning is better than nothing.”

“Y’know that tower’s the first place ‘e’ll hit,” Merle told her nonchalantly, not meaning it as a warning, he was simply stating a fact. Madison paused with her hand on the door as his words sank in then she sharply yanked the door open and left, deciding against getting into another argument with him.

Madison quickly realized that isolating herself by taking watch was a huge mistake; time crept by at a snail’s pace without the others to distract her. Her eyes drifted along the horizon she’d all but memorized over the course of the ridiculous number of hours she’d spent on watch since she’d returned to the prison with the Dixons. She let out a heavy sigh and pulled her hoodie closed tighter around her in an attempt to ward off the chill now that the unpredictable spring temperatures had started to drop. Daryl hated how much time she spent outside the relative safety of the cellblock, but being on watch was one of the few ways she felt like she was contributing, like she still belonged. A loud, sudden pop tore through the quiet in the prison yard. Madison held her breath and listened for more, trying to decide if the noise was a gunshot or not. When nothing else followed she shook her head and tried to make herself relax, but her nerves were frayed beyond repair; with nothing else to keep her hands busy, she started picking at the peeling paint on the railing as she stared up the road hoping to see Daryl and the others round the corner, but expecting to see the Governor’s convoy any minute.   

“Hey, princess,” Merle hollered from the base of the guard tower, startling Madison, “Why dontcha make yerself useful an’ c’mon down ‘ere an’ help me with this gate?”

“How’d you get out here with all those?” Madison shouted, shocked and outraged to see the heavily artillery Merle was carrying.

“I got my ways.”

“What about that gunshot earlier? Was that you?”

“No,” Merle answered flatly, refusing to volunteer more information. He looked over his shoulder at the gate and asked with an aggravated huff, “Ya gonna get the gate’r not?”

If it wasn’t dedicated to a plan doomed to failure, Madison would’ve admired Merle’s persistence, but she agreed with Glenn and believed ambushing the Governor and risking Daryl and the others getting caught in the crossfire wasn’t the right move. “So you can go get the three of them killed?” she scoffed, “I’ll pass, thanks.”

“Ya can come if yer s’damn worried,” Merle grumbled. He didn’t want to spend more time than necessary with his brother’s loud mouthed girlfriend, but if that was the price to get out of the prison he’d gladly pay it, anything to get the ball rolling. Even though he hated to admit it, having backup in case things went bad wasn’t the worst idea in the world and Madison was handy in a fight if nothing else.

“If I thought my going would keep them safe of course I would. This isn’t a good idea Merle; let it go,” she begged even though she was fully aware that trying to talk sense into this man was like trying to break down a brick wall using just her fists.

“How many times I gotta say this?” he mumbled, running his hand over his face then staring at Madison like she should somehow know what he was going to say, “Already said this t’Michonne; me an’ Daryl got calls we used huntin’. I’ll give ‘im a heads up an’ Daryl’ll warn the rest of ‘em.”

Madison couldn't believe her ears and shook her head before answering, struggling to keep her voice calm, “And you don't think the Governor and his men will be suspicious that after a bird call or whatever Daryl starts to round everyone up and tries to leave? They'll know something's up and kill them on the spot, you know that, right?”

The icy expression that took over Merle's face made Madison nervous and she gripped her gun a little tighter as she tried to second guess what he'd do next; she knew he'd stop at nothing to keep his little brother safe and right now she was standing in his way. Merle's tone matched his frigid stare when he finally broke his silence, narrowing his eyes at her, “Least I'm tryin’ t’help ‘im an’ not happy t’sit ‘round on my ass while ‘e puts ‘is life on the line.” Madison opened her mouth to defend herself, but was interrupted by Merle continuing as he took a step closer to the tower, “Thought ya loved ‘im’r some shit like that; thought ya wanted what’s bes’ fer ‘im? Guess I’s wrong ‘bout y’after all, Red.” 

Words failed her as she tried to wrap her brain around the sudden turn Merle’s argument had taken and  for a fraction of a second she doubted her insistence on staying behind, but she stood her ground, quickly coming to her senses and seeing through Merle’s attempt to manipulate her. A moment passed before Merle looked away from her, shaking his head and moving towards the fence, “Ain’t gettin’ myself killed closin’ this from the other side, ya don’t want the biters gettin’ in ya best come close it yerself. I don’t give a shit; I’m goin’ either way.”

Without taking the time to think about what she was doing, Madison quickly aimed her gun at the man standing next to the gate, “Step back, Merle.”

“Y’ain’t gonna kill me,” Merle taunted; he enjoyed pushing her and was curious to see how far she’d bend before he broke her.

“Never said I was,” Madison shot back, proud of herself for keeping both her voice and aim steady; she had no intention of killing Merle or even pulling the trigger, she just wanted to get his attention, but there was no reason for him to know that, “But I am going to stop you. I’m a good shot, thanks to your brother; I won’t make a kill shot, but I’ll hit your foot or hand, whatever it takes to keep you here.” Merle’s steady gaze as he studied her made her stomach churn and she rushed to say everything she wanted to before he called her bluff, “It’s too dangerous to go after them. I won’t let you jeopardize Daryl’s life just so you can feel better. Now step away from the gate and get yourself inside.”

“He’s my lil’ brother, dammit! It’s my job t’watch out fer him!” Merle shouted over his shoulder as he reached for the gate and started picking the lock.

Desperation gripped Madison as she watched Merle fiddle with the gate and she cried down to him, her voice cracking, “Please Merle, I want him to come back just as much as you do. I’m begging you, don’t do anything to keep that from happening!” The anguish in her voice stopped Merle in his tracks and he dropped the lock at glanced up at her, taking a small, backwards step away from the gate. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“This don’t feel right.”

“I know. Believe me, I know.”

Consumed by the frustration of being trapped in the prison and angry at himself for letting Madison’s pleas get to him, Merle glared at her, “The hell ya do, y’ain’t ‘is blood, girl! Stop actin’ like yer anythin’ more t’im that a willin’ piece of ass; he’s gonna get bored with ya an’ toss ya aside one of these days.”

Madison kept her eyes on him, but bit her lip to keep herself from responding or from letting on to how much his words stung. She could recognize the same tendency in Merle to lash out whenever he was hurting or scared that Daryl had and she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of sinking to his level and hurling insults back at him. When Madison refused to give him the reaction he was hoping for, Merle turned on his heel and stormed back to the prison, fighting against seeing her side with every step.

When Merle was out of sight, she let out a shaky breath and shouldered her gun, forcing herself to let Merle’s comments go and trying to figure out why her relationship with Daryl was so threatening to him that he had to try and knock it down every chance he had. 

The shadows stretched farther and farther across the prison yard making her anxiety level rise the longer she went without any sign of Daryl and the others. Above the ever present cacophony of walker groans and snarls the roar of an engine caught Madison’s attention. Her throat went dry as she took her gun and looked up the road through the scope, holding her breath until the source of the racket came into view. Daryl’s motorcycle rounded the corner followed closely by the Hyundai and quiet, relieved laughter spilled out of Madison as she threw the gun’s strap over her shoulder and raced down the steps of the tower to welcome the three men back.

Daryl didn’t even have a chance to kill the bike’s engine or stand up before Madison ran to him and threw her arms around him, whispering in his ear, “Thank God you’re all right!” He held her tightly for a moment and kissed her cheek then released her and turned off his motorcycle. Madison stepped back so he’d have room to swing his leg over the bike, watching Rick and Hershel as they got out of the car followed by a heavy, dark cloud. “I’m afraid to ask, but how did it go?” she quietly asked to the man in front of her as he adjusted his crossbow across his back.

Daryl’s eyes darted to Madison’s and held them there as he answered her question with a shrug, “I dunno. Not good.” Madison nodded slowly and folded her arms; she wasn’t surprised by the news and she knew it was stupid to hope for anything different, but a part of her wanted to believe this meeting between Rick and the Governor would solve their problems. Daryl’s eyes followed Rick as he walked away from the car and towards the prison; when Rick and the Governor stepped out of the abandoned warehouse where they met Daryl could tell that nothing had changed, not that he thought anything would come from the meeting, but from the expression on Rick’s face he knew something was seriously wrong. Rick didn’t stop on the way back to the prison to fill him in so he was as much in the dark and as anxious for news as Madison.

Madison followed Daryl’s gaze and she watched Rick as he walked past them, “What happened?”

Her question brought Rick to a stop. He quickly glanced at her then at the others who had come out from the cellblock to greet them. “Let’s get inside,” he ordered the group, ignoring Madison and moving forward again.

“Rick,” she said, trying again to get their leader’s attention, “I don’t need details, just...what’s going on?”

Rick turned back around and strode over to Madison and Daryl, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the others were out of earshot, “He wants us dead.” 

Madison’s heart stopped at Rick’s announcement, but she held back any sort of reaction and nodded to let him know she heard him. Daryl watched her from the corner of his eye and noticed her face pale slightly and he took her small hand in his to steady her. He looked to Rick and asked, his voice calm as he mentally prepared himself for whatever came next, “S’whaddya need us t’do? What’s next?”

Rick was silent for a moment, “We tell the others that we’re goin’ to war.”


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Update time! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I can't thank those of you who have stuck with me and this story and continue to read it enough. Your support really means the world to me, I say that every time, but it's always true. I also say this every time; I don't own Daryl or the rest of the WD universe, I only own Madison.

After the initial shock of Rick’s unceremonious announcement wore off a fierce determination to survive settled over Madison, smothering the fear trying to sneak into her heart. She was still afraid of the outcome of the impending battle, but she forced herself to focus on what she could control and did everything she could to prepare the prison for whatever the Governor had planned. No one knew when the hammer would drop, but Rick seemed fairly certain that they had a few days to prepare, an attitude which comforted Madison, but also made her wonder what exactly the Governor told Rick and why he wasn’t sharing with the rest of them.

The main topic of discussion within the group was debating the best course of action that would keep the most people alive. The majority of the group, including Madison, wanted to stay put and fortify the prison while Merle thought they should take the fight to Woodbury. Hershel was the most vocal, standing alone in his opinion that they should take their chances and sneak out in the middle of the night, repeatedly saying that way everyone in the group had an equal fighting chance. Daryl asked the older man more than once what he meant by that, but Hershel would just shake his head and cast a fleeting, troubled glance at Rick and refuse to expound. Hershel’s wording made Daryl uneasy and he was certain there was more to Rick’s conversation with the Governor than he was aware of. Knowing that Rick was holding back something the Governor said infuriated Daryl; after how far his relationship with Rick had come and all the times he’d proven himself and had Rick’s back he believed he deserved better. Between Rick withholding information and feeling trapped and utterly powerless his temper flared up and he suddenly found himself leaning towards siding with his brother and wanting to load up every weapon they had and ride to Woodbury’s gate, consequences be damned, if for no other reason than the feeling that they were doing something.

The microscopic silver lining in the group’s dismal situation, to Madison at least, was that she and Daryl were spending every spare minute they had together; stealing kisses in passing and taking meals to the other during their shifts on watch, anything they could think of to be together as often as possible while they still could, all the while doing their best to forget the likelihood that their time together was limited. The time spent with Madison was so precious to Daryl that he forced his temper in check around her, keeping the anger and betrayal he felt inside so it wouldn’t tarnish the sort of bubble they’d created for themselves.

The first hints of the early morning sun filtered through the thin blanket covering the bars to Daryl and Madison’s cell, filling the small space in a soft, warm glow. Madison shifted on the bed slightly so she could look over Daryl's shoulder and watch the muted light envelope their cell before fixing her eyes on the ruggedly handsome face of the man sleeping next to her with his arm draped over her waist, holding her close. Even though the mattress they shared was small, Daryl insisted on sleeping on the side closest to the door. He thought he had Madison fooled when he told her it was because being by the wall made the cell too confining and too much like the cage he’d avoided their first week in the prison. Madison saw through him, however, and knew he slept where he did to act as a barrier between her and whatever found its way into their cell. For whatever reason he never admitted it, probably an attempt to keep her mind at ease she assumed, so she never called him out on it, instead she silently marveled over one of the many little things he did that showed her how deeply he loved her.

She chewed her lip as she tried to focus on the tranquil morning and tune out the ever present sense of dread churning her stomach. She had done her best to put on a brave face ever since Rick told everyone the Governor was coming for them, even around Daryl, but it had been two days since Rick’s meeting and she could feel herself starting to crack; there was no way the Governor would hold off his attack much longer. In a futile attempt to silence her mind, Madison squeezed her eyes shut and nestled against Daryl as closely as she could hoping the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest would finally lull her to sleep. A few minutes passed before Madison opened her eyes again with a defeated sigh, resigning to the fact that she wasn’t going to get any more sleep. A wistful smile turned up the corners of her mouth as she studied Daryl's sleeping face. She loved watching him sleep, it was usually the one time he looked his age, without physical and mental exhaustion taking a constant toll on him, but this morning there was the slightest furrow to his brow telling her he wasn’t sleeping as peacefully as she originally thought. The smile faded from Madison’s lips; it wasn’t fair that she’d spent so many miserable years with Charles only to finally find happiness after the world came to a screeching halt and then have it violently ripped from her. She let out a shaky breath and gently ran her fingers through his hair before resting her hand under her cheek once again. Daryl had saved her in every conceivable way and she doubted she’d ever be able to fully repay him, especially not in the short time they had left.

“Knock it off.”

Daryl’s groggy voice broke the silence, drawing a startled chuckle from Madison, “Knock what off?”

“Yer starin’ at me,” he grunted, looking at her through half open eyes, “Stop it.”

“No I’m not,” Madison argued, hoping to cover up her embarrassment from getting caught.

A moment passed in silence as Daryl scrutinized Madison’s face. “Yer a shitty liar,” he finally concluded with a gleam in his eye, pleased with himself for calling her bluff. Madison threw a light hearted scowl at him as he moved his hand from her waist and brushed her hair from her eyes, “What’s on yer mind, Buster?”

Madison shrugged as her mind raced, searching for something to say that didn't break their pact to not taint the time they had by discussing their uncertain future. “Your beard,” she eventually said softly, smiling at Daryl’s bewildered expression. She lightly traced his goatee with her fingers and continued to run her fingertips along his strong jawline, “I can't believe I'm just noticing this now; when did you start going gray?”

“They day we met,” he answered with a deep, throaty chuckle as he propped himself up on his elbow, curious to see the direction this conversation would take.

“Shut up,” she giggled, playfully smacking his chest, “No way, I did not do this to you.”

“Sure ya did; when ya started coughin’ up blood yer firs’ day with the group. Hell, y’ain’t even been with us a full hour an’ I thought ya’s gonna croak.” A wide smile took over Madison’s face as her expression softened, touched to hear Daryl admit to being worried about her since day one. Daryl watched her eyes grow misty; he hadn't meant to upset her and wanted to keep their moods light so he pulled an overly pensive face and tugged on the gray sections of his beard. A small, pleased grin crept across his face when Madison started laughing again. “This one ‘ere’s from when that walker got yer arm las’ year an’ these're from when ya got yer scar. Got this one jus’ the other day when Michonne showed up an’ said ya’s taken.”

He smirked as he watched Madison purse her lips and shake her head in a half-hearted attempt to hide her amusement. “You about finished?”

“Ain't even close. This one-”

Madison hid her face and gently pushed Daryl, her words muffled by the mattress, “Okay, okay...point taken.” She raised her head and risked peeking at the man next to her and was met by a pair of sparkling blue eyes. Words couldn't describe how dearly she loved those eyes and how, in spite of all the misery they'd seen, they still lit up his entire face when he was happy, especially when he teased her. “Whatever happened, I'm glad,” she murmured, smoothing out the hair on his chin after he’d tugged on it, “I like the gray.”

“Stop,” Daryl scoffed, taking Madison by the wrist and moving her hand away, careful not to disturb her healing cuts. Now it was his turn to be embarrassed and he flopped onto his back and looked at the bunk above him to avoid meeting Madison’s gaze. “I look like an ol’ man,” he grumbled.

“You're joking, right?” Madison blurted, sitting up and staring at Daryl, slack jawed, “It's so sexy!”

If she didn't know any better Madison would've sworn her cheeks were on fire from the way they burned as Daryl laughed quietly, “Think so, do ya, Maddie?”

She nodded slowly and dropped her eyes, focusing intently on her hand as she picked at the sheet. “Incredibly sexy,” she confessed in a breathy whisper, her amber eyes flickering to his face then back to her hand.

A devilish grin covered Daryl’s face and he sat up, watching the deep crimson spread across Madison’s cheeks. He’d always thought Madison was breathtaking, even when he helped her out of woods bruised and caked in blood he couldn’t deny how attractive she was, but she was never more alluring to him than when she blushed, especially if it was a result of his teasing or her revealing something she hadn’t meant to. There was something about her flushed skin and coy expression that made him come completely undone; he couldn’t explain it, but it was a weakness of his and he placed his right hand under her chin and turned her face towards his as he leaned in. “Well, if that’s how ya feel…” he whispered, barely brushing his lips against hers as he spoke before giving in and covering her mouth with an fervent kiss that pinned Madison against the wall.

Not even a full minute later they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat outside the cell door. Madison gasped and pulled back, ending the kiss. Daryl was having none of it and chased her lips, “Jus’ ignore ‘em, Maddie. They’ll get the hint an’ leave.”

“Daryl, come out here so we can talk; it’s important,” Rick called into the cell and an irate scowl quickly took over Daryl’s face as he turned and glared at the door. Rick wanted to talk, now? If it was so important, why had it taken him two days to decide he wanted Daryl involved in whatever was going on?

Madison rested her hand on his cheek and turned his head to face her. He reluctantly met her gaze, the fury in his eyes turning them dark and cloudy and taking Madison by surprise. “What’s wrong?” she asked silently, mouthing the words so Rick wouldn’t overhear, her eyes apprehensively darting to the door. There was more to Daryl’s reaction than mere frustration over being interrupted, he was furious with Rick for something and that worried her.

Daryl muttered something under his breath in response that Madison couldn’t understand and forced himself away from her with an aggravated grunt. “Cover yerself up,” he grumbled, pulling his poncho from the top bunk and tossing it to her then quickly stepping into the pants he left on the floor the previous night. He glanced at Madison to make sure she was decent before pulling the blanket back and glowering at the man on the other side of the bars, “Whaddya want?”

Although she couldn’t see his face, Madison could tell by the long pause before he answered that Rick was taken aback by Daryl’s gruff greeting. Rick peered over Daryl's shoulder trying to figure out what was bothering him, thinking he’d maybe stumbled into the middle of one of Daryl and Madison's arguments; instead he saw Madison sitting on the edge of the bunk holding the poncho tightly around herself with one hand while frantically trying to tame the mess of red on top of her head with the other. “Looks-looks like I caught you at a bad time,” Rick said, quickly averting his eyes and stepping back to give Madison some semblance of privacy.

“Yeah, ya did,” Daryl snapped, narrowing his eyes at the other man and lowering the blanket, blocking Madison from view, “What the hell’s so important?”

“Not here,” Rick answered sharply, looking behind him to make sure no one had emerged from their cell and could overhear them. “Keep your voice down, I don’t want everyone else to know somethin’s goin’ on. When you’re ready come find me and Hershel in the courtyard,” his eyes darted behind Daryl in Madison’s direction and back, “Just you.”

Daryl grunted as he dropped the makeshift curtain in Rick’s face. He turned around, still wearing a bitter expression, and finished getting dressed, groaning when he noticed Madison doing the same, “Y’ain’t got nowhere t’go. Go on an’ get back in bed.”

“I don't see the point; as you already pointed out I wasn't sleeping,” she said with a smile. When Daryl didn't respond to her small attempt at humor she sighed as she sat down on the bed again and pulled on her boots, “Besides I couldn't sleep now that I know you boys are fighting.”

“Ain't fightin’; ‘e jus’ pissed me off is all.”

“What’d he do?” she asked, handing Daryl his vest and jacket.

Daryl reached out and took the clothes from Madison's outstretched hand with a grateful nod. “Y’ain’t thinkin’ Rick's been actin’ weird since ‘e got back from talkin’ with the Governor?”

That wasn't what Madison was expecting him to say and she shrugged, “Maybe a little, I thought I was imagining-”

“‘E’s holdin’ out on us,” Daryl cut Madison off, unable to hold his frustration with Rick in any longer, “That prick told Rick somethin’ the other day an’ Rick ain't tellin’ us! It's bullshit!”

“You mean he's not telling you,” Madison replied, finally piecing together what was wrong. She reached for his hand as she continued quietly, hoping to calm him down a little before he went outside and met with Rick and Hershel, “That’s probably what he wants to talk to you about; he still trusts you.”

“The hell ‘e does,” Daryl muttered, pulling away from Madison and reaching his bow off the top bunk, “Thinkin’ maybe Merle’s right an’ we should take the fight t’Woodbury. Least then we’d be doin’ somethin’.”

“Daryl…”

“If Rick don’t need me, I sure as hell don’t need ‘im.”

Madison leaned forward with her elbows on her knees and ran her hands across her face, “That is, without a doubt, the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say.” Daryl stopped short and caught Madison in a scathing glare, warning her to tread lightly. “What? Don’t give me that look; you’re the one willing to get yourself killed because Rick hurt your feelings.” A quiet, brief chuckle escaped Daryl in spite of his foul mood and he gave Madison a small, half-smile, grateful, yet again, to her for reeling him in when needed. She shook her head at him as she stood up and kissed his cheek, “What am I going to do with you? That pride of yours is going to be the death of you if you don’t watch it.”

“That’s why I keep ya ‘round; t’keep my ass in line.”

“So I’m your babysitter now?”

“Damn straight,” he said with a smirk before turning around and walking out the door to go find Rick.

Madison rolled her eyes at Daryl’s back as she turned around and finished making herself presentable by throwing her hair in a quick braid before grabbing her jacket and leaving the cell. She was about to head downstairs to the common area outside their cell block when she noticed someone leaning in the doorway and staring out at the catwalk. “Everything okay?” she quietly asked Michonne as she approached her, peeking outside to see what she was looking at so intently.

“Think anyone would notice if some of the wood from those pallets went missing?” Michonne asked, glancing at Madison.

“Probably,” Madison answered slowly as she tried to work out what Michonne had in mind, “Those pallets are about the only defense we have out here, not that they’d do much against a sniper. Why?”

Michonne was silent for a moment as she analyzed the redhead next to her; Madison had stood up to Rick for her back at Woodbury and had always been friendly, but Andrea, the only person Michonne had let in since everything fell apart, had betrayed her and Michonne wasn’t eager to make the same mistake again. The expectant expression on Madison’s face as she waited for an answer prompted Michonne to speak, “You know the Governor as well as I do; nothing is going to stop him from getting what he wants.” Madison gawked at Michonne, baffled as to what could possibly be going on in her mind. “His people are another story. If we attached barbed wire to some of the wood from the pallets and placed it in front of the gate-“

“It would pop their tires and stop them from coming for us,” Madison finished, catching on to Michonne’s idea.

“Exactly. Blown tires won’t stop the Governor or his more…brainwashed followers, but hopefully a few people will realize getting to us isn’t worth the hassle.”

Madison stared out the door and folded her arms as she ran the idea over in her mind, searching for ways it could backfire and finding none; even if it didn’t keep them out it would slow them down and force them to deal with the walkers as they crossed the field. “It’s not a bad idea,” she admitted, smiling at Michonne over her shoulder, “We could even make spikes with some splintered wood from the pallets… Need a hand?”

It took Michonne a minute to respond, Madison’s offer to help taking her completely by surprise. Eventually a guarded, but warm, smile covered her face, “I’ll break apart the wood if you get the wire.”

With that Madison and Michonne parted to gather their supplies, meeting together again a few minutes later to assemble the roadblocks. After seeing how many they made and realizing how long it would take to place them in the field teeming with walkers they decided they needed reinforcements and recruited a few others to come help them; Maggie and Carl to attract as many to the fence as they could while Glenn and Daryl put the traps in position, guarded by Michonne and Madison to keep any curious walkers from getting to close to them as they worked. As Madison and Daryl loaded the last of the roadblocks into the bed of the pickup she noticed that something was off with him, he was extremely quiet and refused to make eye contact with anyone, even her. She watched him hop into the back of truck from the corner of her eye as she pulled open the driver’s side door and climbed in; she wasn’t about to bring it up now in front of the others, but clearly Daryl’s talk with Rick hadn’t gone well.

The four of them worked together seamlessly and before long the strips of wood and barbed wire were in place, scattered along the gravel driveway leading to the inner gate of the prison. Daryl called to the others that it was time to go when too many walkers started staggering in their direction and they all jumped back in the truck. “It worked,” Madison said to Michonne with a proud smile once they were in the safety of the cab. Daryl slapped his hand on the side of the truck, signaling Madison that he and Glenn were ready to go and she put the car in gear and drove the short distance to the gate, surprised to see Rick waiting to open it for them.

Everyone hopped out of the truck as Rick made his way over to them. Madison cast a brief, sidelong glance at Daryl as he anxiously moved back and forth; she thought it was strange how he was blatantly avoiding her eyes before, but it was nothing compared to his reaction when he saw Rick. He kept his head down and fidgeted with the strap of his crossbow, careful not to stand too close to Rick if he could help it. Madison brought his uneasy movements to a stop by gently resting her hand on his arm and offering him a comforting half smile when his eyes darted to her face; it wasn’t much, but it was all she could do for him at the moment.

“They try to drive up to the gate again maybe some blown tires will stop them,” Glenn told Rick, explaining what they were doing before their leader had a chance ask.

“That’s a good idea,” Rick replied, giving Glenn an approving nod.

“It was Michonne’s,” Daryl added. Rick turned to Daryl and they exchanged a tense, meaningful look before Rick broke eye contact and turned back towards the others. The interaction between the two men didn’t go unnoticed by Madison and her stomach twisted into knots while her mind raced trying to figure out why the idea being Michonne’s was such a crucial piece of information.

Unaware of whatever was going on between Daryl and Rick, Michonne took a few steps forward and explained her thought process to Rick, “We don’t have to win. We just have to make their getting at us more trouble than it’s worth.”

Rick nodded slightly, acknowledging that he heard her, but he was lost in thought with his brow furrowed and mouth turned down into a faint frown. Maggie and Carl joined them, pulling Rick’s attention back to the present. He quickly scanned the group gathering around the pickup truck. “Let’s go,” he muttered and everyone made their way towards the cellblock door.

“Okay, what on earth’s going on?” Madison asked Daryl, catching him by the arm as he walked past her.

“What’re ya goin’ on ‘bout?” he grumbled, breaking free and moving forward again, “Nothin’.”

“And I’m the bad liar?” she mumbled under her breath as she sped up and planted herself in front of Daryl, bringing him to a stop and forcing him to finally look at her, “I’m not blind, something’s going on; I saw that...look or whatever between you and Rick. What happened this morning? Why does it matter that the idea for the strips was Michonne’s?”

Daryl stared, slack jawed, at the woman in front of him; he’d never get used to her intuitive nature, she could always see things others overlooked. “How the hell did ya…? Never mind, c’mere.” With a heavy sigh Daryl pulled Madison aside and scoped out the courtyard to make sure no one was within earshot. He wasn’t supposed to breathe a word of what was going on to anyone, Rick had been very clear about that, but Daryl couldn’t lie to Madison. The expression when she realized that he’d beaten Randall for information flashed in his mind, he couldn’t live with himself if he put that look on her face again; he had to be upfront with her. Once they were alone Daryl cleared his throat and crossed his arms, “It matters ‘cause the Governor offered Rick a deal; ‘e’ll leave us alone if we give ‘im Michonne. Rick’s goin’ through with it, that’s what ‘e wanted t’tell me earlier.”

Madison’s stomach lurched and she clamped her hand over her mouth, staring at Daryl in utter disbelief as she ran what he just told her over in her mind and hoping she’d misunderstood him. “What?” she pleaded quietly after she moved her hand, resting it at her collarbone, feeling like the ground was giving way beneath her, “Please tell me you’re making this up.” Daryl’s eyes fell to the ground and he shook his head, shifting his weight from leg to leg. Madison held her hands to head and stared off in the direction the group went; she didn’t know what to do with herself. “I-we’ve been with her all morning…why didn’t you say anything?” Anger flashed across her face and was replaced by dread as she turned her attention back to Daryl and took a small step back, “You’re not okay with this, are you?” She wrapped her arms around herself and held her breath while she waited for his answer, not sure what she’d do if he said he was on Rick’s side.

“Course I ain’t, how can ya even ask me that?” Daryl snapped, “Dammit, Madison, what kinda lowlife d’ya think I am?”

“You’re not, I don’t-I…sorry. It’s a lot to take in…I just-we can’t let Rick go through with it.” She met Daryl’s gaze and saw his face soften slightly after her insistence that she didn’t think any less of him, unaware that her pained expression was cutting Daryl like a knife. It was so close to how she looked at him on the farm; it was torture for him to see her like this, as if everything she knew was a lie. She searched his eyes for guidance and whispered, “What do we do? I can’t just sit back and do nothing; I’d be dead if it wasn’t for her.”

Daryl’s face fell, Madison’s comment added another layer of guilt to the turmoil surging inside; he hadn’t considered that Michonne was the reason Madison was standing in front of him right now. “I know, Buster,” he said, gently touching her cheek, “I told Rick this ain’t us, that there’s gotta be ‘nother way. But ‘e wasn’t lookin’ fer advice’r a discussion; ‘is mind’s made up. ‘E wasn’t askin’ me, ‘e’s tellin’ me. ‘E said this is the only way t’avoid a fight, t’make sure no one else dies.” Daryl paused for a moment and met Madison’s dismayed gaze before stepping towards her and taking her hand, staring at their interlocked fingers. “Maybe this is how y’an’ me make it outta this mess t’gether,” he murmured, each word laced with self-loathing.

“No. Absolutely not.” Madison could see how deeply Daryl hated himself for even suggesting it; she appreciated the lengths he would go through to keep them together, but she wasn’t going to let him compromise himself in such an unforgivable way. “I’ve done a lot of things I never thought I’d do since the world fell apart, but this? I’m sorry, Daryl; this is a line I’m not willing to cross. And neither are you, I can see it in your eyes.”  

“I jus’ wanna keep ya safe,” he said, closing his eyes and releasing a heavy sigh when she dropped his hand and took a step back.

“Don't. Don't use me as an excuse to rationalize your actions. Not again.” Madison folded her arms and took a minute to choke back the lump forming in her throat, her voice cracking as she went on, “I still hate knowing that I’m the reason you did what you did to Randall; I feel sick when I think about it, actually. I know you did it because you love me and this is no different, but you can keep me safe without sentencing someone else to death. There has to be a way.”

Daryl shifted his weight and adjusted his crossbow on his shoulder, “What if there ain’t?”

“I refuse to believe that.” Madison closed the distance she’d put between them and placed her hands on either side of his face, guiding his forehead to rest on hers. “You’re better than this,” she whispered, holding his light blue eyes in a desperate, pleading gaze, “We, this group, are better than this. You know this isn’t right.”

A pregnant pause fell between the two and Madison held her breath as she waited for Daryl’s response. After what felt like an eternity Daryl finally nodded, “‘Kay, I’ll try talkin’ t’Rick.”

“Thank you,” Madison breathed, a relieved smile turning up the corners of her mouth. Daryl stood straight and Madison moved her hands from his face and ran them up and down his arms. “I’ll go with you.”

“Nah, y’ain’t supposed t’know nothin’ ‘bout this, remember? I’ll talk t’ ‘im, don’t know that it’ll make a damn bit of difference though,” he added, knowing there was very little he could do to change Rick’s mind; if he hadn’t listened to both Daryl and Hershel telling him earlier not to go through with it, nothing was going to work.

Madison gave him a sad, understanding smile and squeezed his hand, “But at least you’ll know you tried.”

Daryl pressed his lips together and nodded at Madison before turning around and leaving her standing in the courtyard. She ran her hand over her face and took a moment to compose herself before entering the cellblock; she couldn’t let on that something was wrong, she had to keep it together. She walked into the prison on autopilot and plowed into someone as she tried to get through the barred door separating the common area from the cells. “Sorry,” she mumbled then her eyes focused and it was all she could do to hide the relieved smile wanting to take over her face when she saw the baffled and annoyed Michonne standing in front of her; Rick hadn’t gone to fulfill the deal yet, Daryl still had time to try and stop it from happening, “Sorry, I guess my eyes haven’t adjusted to the dim light in here yet.”

“Just be glad I’m not something more dangerous,” Michonne said, shaking her head and stepping aside to let Madison through the doorway.

“I don’t know, based off that look you just gave me, I’d say you’re pretty dangerous,” Madison laughed, happy to see Michonne let her guard down for a second and laugh with her. They couldn’t hand her over to the Governor; aside from the enormous debt Madison felt she owed the woman standing next to her, she was growing to like her and felt like she would be a good addition to the group. Madison opened her mouth to warn Michonne about Rick’s plan, but closed it again at the last second. Still clinging to the hope that Daryl would able to talk some sense into Rick she decided there was no reason to upset Michonne over something that might not happen, resolving to warn her if Daryl was unsuccessful. Madison’s eyes darted around the cellblock trying to find something to say now that Michonne was watching her with a curious look on her face. Madison's mouth dropped as she saw the state of the cellblock; slashed pillows and bedding were strewn everywhere and mattresses were overturned in the few cells she could see into. “Did a bomb go off in here?” she asked, bending down and inspecting a clump of mattress stuffing by her feet, “What happened?”

“Merle,” Michonne answered coldly, unable to hide her disdain for the older Dixon, “Merle happened.”

Before Madison could ask her what she meant by that Michonne turned around and meandered into the common room and out the door. Madison stood still for a minute and took stock of the carnage before throwing her head back and groaning in frustration then stooping over to begin the long process of cleaning up Merle’s mess, grumbling to herself all the while.

“Damn girl.” Merle’s voice came out of nowhere. Madison jumped and dropped the mutilated pillow in her hands. Merle moved just as quietly as his younger brother when he wanted to and that unnerved her. She didn't like Daryl's habit of sneaking up behind her, but at least she knew she could trust him, Merle was a different story. She did her best to ignore his amused chuckle as she picked up the pillow again and continued working as if he wasn’t there. Merle refused to be ignored and continued talking, “Every time ya bend over, I see why m’brother wants t’keep ya ‘round.”

Madison groaned in disgust and stood up quickly, facing him and holding the pillow in front of herself to keep his leering eyes off her. “What do you want, Merle?” she snapped, “I’m kind of busy right now, you know, cleaning up the mess you made.”

Merle shook his head and sauntered closer then leaned against the wall, flashing her a sickening smile. “C’mon now, can’t blame a man fer lookin’ fer a good time. This place’s as borin’ as hell, what with no booze an’ no drugs. I’s thinkin’ maybe y’an’ me could make it lil’ more interestin’?” he suggested with a wink, eyeing her closely, “Ya know, get these bars rattlin’ if ya catch my meanin’.”

“And cheat on Daryl? Even worse, cheat on him with his brother? What’s wrong with you?”

“S’is that a no?”

“Of course it’s a no!” Madison barked, fed up with Merle talking to her like she was a slut who would jump into bed with anyone that offered. She bent down a fraction of an inch to continue cleaning then remembered that Merle was still watching her so she straightened up and glared at him, planting her hand on her hip, “I mean it, what do you want? I’m not in the mood for your crap today. Tell me what you want or get out.”

“Whoo, somethin’s got yer panties in a twist! Yer too uptight, princess; needa relax,” Merle drawled, pushing himself away from the wall and towards her, “I could give ya a hand, y’know, loosen ya up a lil’ if Darylina ain’t gettin’ the job done...”

Madison’s mouth fell open as she defiantly met Merle’s eyes, unsuccessfully hiding her revolution, and took a few steps back putting as much distance as she could between them, “Don’t come near me! I don’t know why you think it’s okay to talk to me like this, but it stops now! I’ve had it!” Merle’s mouth broke into a smile and he laughed at Madison’s reaction. “I don’t get how you and Daryl can be related,” Madison huffed then spun around and rushed into the nearest cell under the pretense of cleaning it, but all she cared about was hiding the blush she felt painting her cheeks; she couldn’t believe she let herself play into his hand like that and she felt quite stupid over it. ”You two are so different,” she added under her breath, unaware that Merle had followed her and was leaning in the doorway, well within earshot.

“Weren’t always s’different, princess,” Merle insisted, putting his metal prosthetic against the opposite side of the doorway, blocking Madison in, “Hell, if y’knew what yer precious Daryl was like b’fore all this you’d run away real quick. I promise ya that.” He stared at Madison as he spoke; the fact that a girl like her, who so obviously would’ve been out of the Dixon’s league before the world fell apart, chose to be with his brother and claimed to be in love with him baffled him. Merle didn’t hate Madison, he was even starting to get used to her inability to shut her mouth, but he didn’t trust her. He knew it was only a matter of time before a girl like her got tired of slumming it with someone like Daryl and left him for greener pastures. He didn’t like it, but it was obvious that Daryl had fallen hard for this woman, further proving Merle’s belief that his little brother had always been the sweeter out of the two of them, and Merle hated the potential Madison had to break his heart. If tearing her down and pushing her away would save Daryl eventual pain, he was happy to do it.

Madison placed the slashed blanket in her hands on the bed and turned to look at Merle. “I know who he was,” she said firmly, standing with folded arms and jutted hips, “I don’t know every detail and I don’t need to, I know enough. It doesn’t matter; he’s a good man now.”

“That’s whatcha think, huh?” Merle scoffed, “I bet ya my last hand ya don’t know what m’brother, the ‘good man’ ya trus’ s’much an’ share yer bed with every night, an, our good ol’ friend Rick’s fixin’ t’do with Michonne, d’ya?”

“How do you know about that?” Madison asked quietly, more fully understanding the betrayal Daryl was feel earlier that morning. Rick said he didn’t want her to know what was going on, but then he turns around and tells Merle of all people? What had she done to make Rick think Merle was more trustworthy than she was?

“Who d’ya think Officer Friendly’s gettin’ t’help ‘im?”

It all made sense now; it wasn’t that Rick thought Merle was trustworthy, he was using Merle to do the dirty work. Madison’s mind immediately switched gears; this was bad. Daryl at least had a chance to change Rick’s mind, but now that Merle was involved it was going to take a miracle to keep Michonne safe. “Merle, you can’t go through with it! You’re better than this,” she spluttered, regurgitating the words she’d spoken to Daryl just a few minutes ago, only this time she wasn’t sure she believed what she was saying.

“Man, y’can’t lie fer shit, darlin’. Y’know better than most what I’m willin’ t’do,” Merle answered, studying Madison closely, searching for any sign that she meant what she said and coming up empty. “Men like Rick need men like me t’do what they won’t or can’t. I’ve made m’peace with that.”

“I wouldn’t start packing your gear quite yet if I were you. Rick’s a good man; he won’t go through with it. He’s going to change his mind and call it off.”

A dark chuckle came from the doorway and Merle moved to stand in front of Madison, sneering, “Rick’s a good man. Daryl’s a good man. E’erybody in this whole damn prison’s a good man. Where’s that gonna get ya when the Governor comes ‘round again with more guns an’ more people, hmm?”

Merle’s proximity made Madison uncomfortable and her hands turned clammy. He wasn’t giving off the same sleazy vibe as when he first started talking to her, now he seemed intimidating and dangerous. He was right and it killed Madison to admit to herself that he had a point. “I’m not saying we don’t fight back, I’m just saying we don’t hand her over. There’s still such a thing as right and wrong.” She stood her ground, hoping that she seemed confidant and her discomfort wasn’t seeping to the surface, “Having morals isn’t a weakness.”

“An’ ya can tell yerself that when yer on yer knees, starin’ down the barrel of the Governor’s gun an’ ‘e pulls the trigger. See, now the Governor, ‘e ain’t a good man an’ ‘e ain’t gonna let nothin’ stop ‘im from gettin’ what ‘e wants an’ ‘e wants ya dead. ‘E wants Daryl dead. ‘E wants e’ery las’ one of ya dead.” Merle stopped talking and stared at Madison, pleased to see that for once she didn’t have a response. “If yer gonna live ya gotta be willin’ t’do some bad shit. This ain’t a game, princess. Time t’sack up.”

“Does it make it easier, telling yourself that?” she finally asked in a strained whisper when she found her voice again.

“Make what easier?”

“Seeing the disappointment in Daryl’s eyes when he looks at you?”

Rage contorted Merle’s face and he took another step towards Madison, but she didn’t flinch or move away. She’d struck a nerve just like she’d hoped, however, she was fully aware that she might walk away sporting a fresh black eye for her efforts. “What the hell ya say t’me, girl?” Merle growled.

“You can’t tell me he doesn’t look at you differently after everything you’ve done. Interrogating Glenn and I isn’t the worst thing you’ve done since Atlanta, is it?”

“Wanna see fer yerself? Keep runnin’ yer damn mouth,” he growled through gritted teeth.

The color drained slightly from Madison’s face, but she pressed on, “It’s not too late for you to turn it around, to finally earn the respect of your younger brother. Don’t you want that? All you’d have to do is stop acting how you think people expect you to and do what’s right for a change. You could step up like Daryl. When he saved me last year no one thought he was worth much, including himself. He proved them all wrong. I think you could prove them wrong too, if you tried.” When she said all she wanted to say Madison took a deep, quick breath and braced herself for Merle's reaction, unsure if it would be verbal or physical, most likely both.

The silence in the cell as Merle and Madison stared at each other was deafening. Merle fought desperately to block out what she said. She didn’t mean it, how could she? He wasn’t a good man, never had been and never would be; she should know that better than most. Merle shook his head and scoffed as he turned to leave, “Yer jus’ tryin’ t’save Michonne’s ass.”

“You’re half right,” Madison called after him, following him out of the cell and leaning against the doorframe with folded arms. It was true Merle had further to go than his brother had, but if Daryl could rise above who he was, she wanted to believe Merle could too, given the opportunity.

He wasn’t sure what possessed him to do it; maybe it was because the idea that Madison could be right terrified him or maybe it was because he wanted to fight against the potential she claimed to see and prove her wrong, but Merle let his eyes slowly travel up and down her body one last time, amused by the way she uncomfortably squirmed under his gaze. “Yer full of shit, princess,” he said with a wink and a smirk, “but my offer still stands if ya ever need a lil’ stress relief.”

“I know what you’re doing,” Madison replied, seeing through Merle’s façade, “But I want to make something perfectly clear. Ask me to hook up with you again and I will cut your balls off and feed them to walkers. Got it?”

Merle walked away without a word, but the look on his face seemed to say ‘we’ll see about that’. After he disappeared into the common room Madison waited for a second to make sure he didn’t wander back into the cellblock before bending down and picking up the mess surrounding her again. She shook her head, torn between irritation and amusement, and wondered if her words had any effect on him. She stood back up to shove as much mattress stuffing as she could into a relatively unscathed pillow case in lieu of a trash bag. Moments later she felt a hand fall far lower on her back than she was comfortable with and every muscle in her body went rigid; even if he meant it as a joke, Merle had gone too far. “I told you I don’t want you touching me!” she exploded, whirling around to confront him.

“That’s news t’me, Buster,” Daryl said, thoroughly enjoying his redhead’s expressive face as it registered who she was talking to, “’Cause ya sure weren’t complainin’ this mornin’.”

“I thought you were Merle,” she explained lamely, her relief that Merle wasn’t starting to get handsy keeping her from saying anything else.   

“I figured. Good t’see the Ball Buster’s alive an’ well,” Daryl laughed, seeing the mild annoyance in her eyes and tucking the hair falling out of her braid behind her ear. His eyes turned serious as he studied her closely. In his search for Rick he’d run into Glenn instead and failed spectacularly at smoothing things over with the younger man. When he’d asked Glenn if there was any way to make what Merle did right Glenn told him that if he’d been the only one hurt he might be able to call it even, but that because of what happened to Maggie in Woodbury he couldn’t forgive Merle. ‘I care more about her than I care about me; I thought you’d get that now that you have Madison.’ Glenn’s words had played over and over in Daryl’s mind since he’d left him fuming in the courtyard and then to come inside and hear Madison yelling because she thought Merle was the one touching her Daryl had to wonder if he’d been too lax with Merle in regards to Madison. Without taking his eyes off her he asked softly, “E’erythin’ okay? D’I gotta-”

Madison shook her head, “No, no. Everything’s fine. He behaved, more or less.” Daryl raised an eyebrow skeptically at her and she shrugged, “I mean, we are talking about your brother so that’s about as good as can be expected.”

“Guess so,” he sighed before giving her a quick kiss, “Did ‘e say where ‘e’s headin’?” Madison answered with a brief shake of her head and Daryl pulled his crossbow off his back with a huff, “Dammit. Ya see ‘im, tell ‘im I’m lookin’ fer him?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

Daryl acknowledged her response with a grunt then took off once again; he only caught the last part of Merle and Madison’s conversation, but it sounded like Rick had already recruited Merle to help get Michonne to the Governor and if that was the case he had to talk to Merle before he did something that couldn’t be undone. Daryl made his way through the maze of corridors deep inside the prison looking for his brother. “Merle! Ya down ‘ere?” he called as loudly as he dared in the dark hallways. A muffled clanging started coming from around the nearest corner and Daryl picked up the pace, raised his bow, and burst into the generator room, expecting to see a walker closing in on his brother, “Merle!”

“Hey, lil’ brother,” Merle responded, leaning casually against a counter along the edge of the room.

“What the hell?” Daryl muttered as he carefully looked around, trying to figure out what was making the noises he heard.

“I’s jus’ ‘bout t’holler back atcha.”

The atmosphere in the room felt off and Daryl uneasily moved around, looking for something, he just wasn’t sure what. “What’re ya doin’ down ‘ere?” he finally asked.

Daryl’s constant movement got on Merle’s nerves quickly so he stepped away from the counter and leaned on the generator next to him to keep Daryl from wandering around too much, “Jus’ lookin’ fer a lil’ crystal meth.” Daryl stared at his brother in disbelief then turned around and walked back closer to the door, throwing a frustrated, disapproving look over his shoulder at Merle who let out a short laugh, “Yeah, yeah, I know. Shouldn’t mess m’life up when e’erythin’s goin’ so sweet, right?”

Daryl opened his mouth to reply then shut it again, shaking his head; he’d had this fight with Merle enough times to know it wasn’t worth getting into again, especially not at the moment. “Ya talk t’Rick yet?” he said, trying to confirm what he already suspected and taking a few steps towards Merle again. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t force himself to stand still. To say his relationship with Merle had been strained since he stood up to him in the forest was an understatement and knowing he was about to contradict him again only made Daryl more nervous.

“Yeah. Oh, yeah. I’m in,” Merle answered, moving back to lean against the counter again, “But, uh, ‘e ain’t got the stomach fer it. ‘E’s gonna buckle. Y’know that, right?”

“Yeah,” Daryl said quietly, looking away from his brother and chewing the inside of his lip. “If ‘e does, ‘e does,” he finally added as he met Merle’s analytical stare once again.

“Ya wan’ ‘im t’?” Merle asked, but it was more of a statement than an actual question; he knew his little brother and he knew he wasn’t comfortable with a plan like this.

Daryl took a moment to figure out what he wanted to say. He didn’t agree with Rick’s decision, even before Madison got involved he was sick over the whole thing, but he didn’t have the final say in the group and Merle’s question made him painfully aware of that fact. He couldn’t hold back the defeated sigh that slipped out before he answered, “Whatever ‘e says goes.”

“Man,” Merle scoffed, shaking his head at Daryl, at least he thought the man he was talking to was his brother; he looked like him and sounded like him, but he acted nothing like the man he knew before Atlanta. “Do ya even possess a pair of balls, lil’ brother? Are they even attached?” Daryl glared at Merle and turned away, shaking his head as he took several steps towards the door; Merle had been asking him these questions his entire life and he’d had enough, he had more important things to do than stand here and be insulted. Merle started talking again and against his better judgement Daryl came to a stop and faced him again. “I mean, if they are, they b’long t’ya. Y’used t’call people like that sheep. What happened t’ya?”

The look on Merle’s face, like Daryl was a pathetic, castrated, shell of a man, gave him the push he needed to stand up to his bully of a brother, if not for his sake, for the sake of his friends. “What happened with y’an’ Glenn? An’ Maggie?” he asked, standing tall and holding eye contact, “Don’t even know e’erythin’ that happened with Maddie, do I?”

“All ya needa know ‘bout ‘er is I’ve done worse. Woulda done worse, but I knew ya’s sweet on ‘er.” Daryl’s stomach fell to the ground; Madison was that bad off when they found her and that was Merle taking it easy on her? Merle saw the pain in Daryl’s eyes, even though he tried to hide it, and gave a derisive snort, “That bitch of yers is makin’ ya weak. Y’needa grow up. Things’re different now. Yer people look at me like I’m the devil, grabbin’ up those lovebirds an’ the redhead like that, huh? Now y’all wanna do the same damn thing I did. Snatch someone up an’ deliver ‘em t’the Governor. Jus’ like me.” Merle paused and watched Daryl shift his weight from leg to leg, clearly uncomfortable with the truth behind what he was saying. “Yeah,” he continued with a humorless chuckle, “Y’know the princess tried t’talk me outta this too? I’m gonna tell ya what I told ‘er; people do what they gotta do’r they die.”

“Can’t do things without people anymore, man.”

“Maybe these people need somebody like me ‘round, huh? Do their dirty work. The bad guy. Yeah, maybe that’s how it is now, huh?” Merle studied his younger brother’s reaction, paying particular attention to the way his shoulders slumped and his eyes dropped to the floor while he was talking. Unbidden and unwelcome, Madison’s voice echoed in Merle’s ears, asking how it felt to see the disappointment in Daryl’s eyes. He hadn’t had an answer when she was mouthing off to him in the cellblock earlier, but he did now; it felt like shit. “How’s that hit ya?” he added, hoping Daryl would change his tune and rally behind him like old times and that that would snuff out Madison’s disembodied voice asking if Merle wanted Daryl’s respect or not.

Daryl didn’t respond how Merle had hoped. Instead he took an uncertain step forward and hesitantly put his hand on Merle’s shoulder, “I jus’ wan’ m’brother back.”

“Get outta ‘ere, man,” Merle said, shaking off Daryl’s hand and words the best he could before turning his back on his little brother to let him know the conversation was over. Daryl stood looked at Merle for a moment before shaking his head and walking out the door, kicking himself for attempting to reach Merle on an emotional level; he should’ve known better than to try that.

The heavy metal door leading from the courtyard swung open as Madison came back from the last of her many trips dumping the remains of Merle’s drug search in the far corner of the courtyard and out of the way. She chewed her lip as she secured the door behind her; there had to be a way to make use out of everything she’d thrown outside when the Governor paid them a visit, maybe set fire to it and put it front of the main gate to make it harder for them to break in. Something. Her thoughts derailed when she heard Hershel reading a passage of scripture out loud. She slowly climbed down the stairs and watched as he and his daughters clung to each other and sought peace from the pages of a well-worn Bible. Madison grew up in a religious home and even though Charles wouldn’t allow a copy of the Bible in his house, she always found herself leaning on her favorite verses, or vague memories of them, to help her through the bad days. Drawn by the words Hershel read and the sense of family as the Greene’s huddled together around one of the common room tables Madison stepped towards them before shaking her head and turning away. They treated her like she was one of them, but in the cold light of day she wasn’t actually a member of the Greene family; this was a time to be with the ones you loved and she didn’t want to impose. Someone cleared their throat and Madison glanced over her shoulder to see Maggie looking at her and beckoning her over to them. Without further hesitation Madison sat down at the table between Beth and Hershel and smiled to herself when Beth took her hand and gave her a comforting and welcoming squeeze.

“Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night. Nor for the arrow that flieth by day. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness. Nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. One thousand shall fall at thy side and then thousand at thy right hand. But it shall not come nigh thee.  Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee and under His wings shalt thou trust. There shall no evil befall thee. Neither shall my plague come nigh thy dwelling.” Hershel’s voice faded and he stared at the book in his hands. Madison saw the torment behind his expression and rested her free hand on his shoulder as he struggled with the weight of Rick's’ decision.

“You okay?” Beth asked when her father stopped reading and she let go of Madison then reached out for Hershel.

He took both of his daughters’ hands and looked at each of the young women sitting around him in turn. “What I wouldn’t do to keep you girls safe,” he said, sharing a knowing look with Madison; it pained him that she was burdened by knowing what he knew, but he was grateful to have someone there who understood the full gravity of the situation.

The four of them sat around the table in silence, all lost in their own set of concerns. Hershel abruptly stood, startling all three of his girls, and hobbled towards Rick who had entered the room without anyone’s knowledge, “Rick?” Beth and Maggie stood to leave, but Madison stayed where she was, hoping to have the opportunity to talk to Rick in case Daryl still hadn’t found him. Hershel continued once the former sheriff stopped and looked at him, “What you’re about to do-”

“I can’t,” Rick cut Hershel off in a whisper, glancing at Madison and holding up his hand, “I won’t.” Madison couldn’t suppress an enormous sigh of relief as Rick went back the way he came to go find Daryl and Merle to tell the brothers the deal was off.

As happy as Madison was to hear that Rick had come to his senses his change of heart sealed the group’s fate; now there was nothing stopping the Governor and he could be coming for them at any moment. She quickly got up from the table and busied herself doing whatever she could think of to give those in the prison a fighting chance including making sure the stashes of ammunition placed in strategic locations were well stocked and all their weapons were in working order and fully loaded. She was in constant motion until late afternoon when Carl came looking for her to tell her to meet the others in the courtyard. A familiar dread settled in her chest and before she could ask him what was going on he was off to tell the others leaving her to make her way to the courtyard alone.

“Do you have any idea what this is about?” she asked Carol as she took a seat next to her on the bench closest to the wall. Things were tense between Madison and Carol again ever since Madison’s return to the prison. Carol wasn’t bad-mouthing Madison or trying to undermine her at every turn any more, but she was cool and distant, almost treating Madison as if she didn’t exist, their brief moment of bonding over practicing C-sections on a walker a fading memory. It wasn’t that Madison was desperate to be Carol’s friend, she’d made it this long without her friendship, but they had to be able to rely on each other when the chips were down and Madison choosing to sit next to her was her small way of offering a truce.

Carol glanced at Madison then back at Judith who was sleeping soundly in the slightly older woman’s arms, “Not sure, Rick has some sort of announcement I think.”

Madison lightly ran her finger along Judith’s plump cheek to try and hide her shock at Carol’s answer, was Rick really going to admit to the entire group how close he came to trading Michonne in to the Governor? The low murmur of hushed conversations in the courtyard died down when Rick stepped in front of the group. Madison pulled her attention away from the baby and craned her neck as she scanned the faces surrounding her; everyone was gathered except for Michonne, Merle, and Daryl. Her breath hitched and her leg started bouncing up and down as she forced herself to focus on Rick and ignore the unsettling combination of people missing from the group.

“When I met with the Governor, he offered me a deal,” Rick admitted when all eyes were on him, surprising Madison by cutting straight to the chase. “He said-he said he would leave us alone if I gave him Michonne. And I was gonna do that. To keep us safe.” Rick paused and took in the stunned, angry faces of his group. Madison felt for him; he was trying to save their lives, he’d just come dangerously close to doing so in the worst possible way. When his eyes landed on her she gave him a small, understanding smile so he’d know at least one person still believed in him. “I changed my mind,” he continued, looking away from Madison and focusing on the others, “But now Merle took Michonne to fulfill the deal and Daryl went to stop him and I don’t know if it’s too late.”

Madison closed her eyes and took a sharp breath as she fought back the panic that threatened to take over when Rick confirmed what she tried so hard to keep herself from seeing moments ago. Her thoughts tripped over themselves as she tried to guess how long after they’d last talked Daryl had left and how much of a lead Merle and Michonne had on him, how quickly Daryl would be able to catch up and if he’d be able to stop Merle before it was too late. Her eyes flew open and she stopped the avalanche of questions tumbling around in her brain. There was nothing she could do for Daryl from here. He was a strong man and had the ability to make his brother listen to him when properly motivated, everything would be fine. All three of them would be back soon, she reasoned with herself and only giving herself permission to worry about Daryl’s safety if the others came back and he wasn’t with them. Though she’d managed to calm the storm raging in her mind for the time being, her body hadn’t quite received the same message and she anxiously picked at the dirt under her nails as she listened to the rest of Rick’s speech.

“I was wrong not to tell you. And I’m sorry.” No one spoke to accept or deny Rick’s apology, everyone was still too shocked to do much of anything and Rick went on, unable to stop himself from saying all he had on his mind, “What I said last year, that first night after the farm… It can’t be like that. It can’t. What we do, what we’re willin’ to do, who we are, is not my call. It can’t be. I couldn’t sacrifice one of us for the greater good because, because we are the greater good. We’re the reason we’re still here, not me. This is life and death. How you live...how you die...it isn’t up to me. I’m not your Governor. We choose to go. We choose to stay. We stick together. We vote. We can stay and we can fight or we can go.” Rick had finally said all he had to say and he stood in front of the group for a minute and waited for some sort of response, confusion, bitterness, anger, anything. When he was met with nothing but prolonged silence he sighed and walked away to give the group some time to process all the information he’d dropped on them.

No one moved, no one spoke, everyone stayed where they were and let Rick’s words sink in for what seemed like hours. Eventually Judith woke up and started fussing making Carol the first to head back inside, muttering something under her breath about when you live with a person for a year you think you know them. Slowly the rest of the group filtered out of the courtyard and into the cellblock. Madison started shivering the longer she sat in the shade, but couldn’t bring herself to move until she felt someone’s hand on her shoulder and glanced up to see Maggie looking at her. “C’mon,” she said, gently shaking Madison’s shoulder, “We’ve got some big decisions to make and we need the whole group there.”

Madison shook her head, “I knew. I knew what Rick was planning on doing; I tried talking Merle out of it, but...”

“But Merle’s an ass and won’t listen to anybody.” Maggie smiled at Madison as she nodded in agreement then nudged her again, “They’re waitin’. The last thing we need is you gettin’ a cold from sittin’ out here too long and killin’ us all before the Governor gets the chance.”

“Has anyone ever told you you’ve got a really sick sense of humor?” Madison asked, rising to her feet and brushing a stray piece of hair out of her eyes as the two women made their way to the cellblock door.

“My fiancé’s mentioned it,” Maggie says, unable to suppress a smile.

Madison stopped walking and grabbed Maggie by the arm, “I'm sorry, your what now?” Maggie’s face lit up as she beamed excitedly and held up her left hand. Madison felt like her jaw came unhinged as it fell open when she saw the brilliant diamond sparkling on Maggie’s finger. “Congratulations!” Madison cried, catching her adopted sister in a bearhug then whispering through her tears of joy, her voice cracking slightly, “I'm so happy for you.”

“Me too!” Maggie giggled as Madison let her go and grabbed her hand to get a closer look at the simple, yet beautiful ring on Maggie’s fourth finger, doing her best not to think about where Glenn could possibly find a ring like that in the prison.

Behind them the main gate opened and closed. Madison turned around and her heart stopped, the wide smile on her face vanishing in an instant as she watched Michonne walk towards them. Alone. “You’re back,” she said, unable to control the tremor in her voice, “What...wh-where are Merle and Daryl?”

“I don’t know,” Michonne answered, her defensive tone back with a vengeance, “After Merle let me go he kept driving. I crossed paths with Daryl a few minutes later and he took off after his brother.”

Movement behind Michonne caught Madison’s attention and her eyes darted from Michonne’s unsettlingly calm expression to Rick as he strode up from securing the gate after letting Michonne back in. “I’m glad you decided to come back,” Madison hastily told the woman in front of her, “And for what it’s worth, Rick called it off. That’s why Daryl was tailing you two, to bring you back. I’m so sorry Merle took matters into his own hands. He wasn’t supposed to.” The warmth slowly returned to Michonne’s eyes after hearing Madison explain that Merle acted on his own, without the support of the group. Rick ushered the three women inside and Madison fell into step beside Michonne as they climbed the stairs, “So Merle just let you go?” Michonne nodded and Madison’s brow furrowed, “What happened?”

“He just said to come back here and get ready for what’s next and there was something he had to do on his own.”

When they got inside they quickly joined the rest of the group gathered around one of the tables debating what to do next. Madison stood behind Hershel and Beth, but she was only paying attention to the discussion halfheartedly as she pondered what Michonne had said. Something he had to do on his own. Merle couldn’t be stupid enough to try and ambush the Governor without backup, could he? She scoffed and pushed her bangs back; he said he was looking for a good time earlier; he probably went looking for a bar so he could get wasted. Madison tried to make herself believe that, but something in the pit of her stomach told her she was wrong and every minute that passed without any sign of the Dixons’ return tightened the knots twisting in her stomach.

“Is it too late to just leave?” Beth asked, pulling Madison’s attention back to the group, “It’s gettin’ dark, they won’t attack ‘till tomorrow, right? It’s too dangerous for them to be out at night with the walkers.”

“No more dangerous than for us to try and get through that field in the dark,” Michonne added.

“We’d all be locked inside movin’ vehicles,” Hershel said, “The walkers aren’t what’s goin’ to hold off the Governor until mornin’; he won’t start a fight when he can’t see the target.”

Madison looked frantically from person to person, “If that’s what everyone wants to do, I’m fine with running, but we can’t leave before Daryl gets back.”

“And what if he doesn’t come back?” Glenn asked and Madison’s eyes went wide, horrified by what he was suggesting. “I’m not saying something’s happened to him, but he’s left us to be with his brother before, what’s to stop him from doing it again?”

“Will you let that go already?” Madison snapped. “He’s going to come back,” she said forcefully, trying to convince herself that Daryl would come back to the prison for her, but a cruel voice inside of her head refused to be ignored and reminded her that he had left her to be with Merle once before.

Glenn held his hands up, ending his conversation with Madison before it got too heated. “It’s a moot point. I don’t think we should run. We’ve worked too hard to just give up on this place; we need to fight back,” he told the group and the debate continued.

Eventually it was decided that the group would stay and fight for the prison, now the question was how. Madison was happy with this decision; it had taken them nearly nine months to find this place. If they left how long would they be on the road before they found someplace else to call home? She didn’t think she had nine more months on the run in her.

The door to the common area creaked open and all eyes instinctively turned in its direction and everyone clutched their weapons a little tighter, loosening their grip when Daryl numbly stumbled inside, holding his bow in his right hand. “Thank God!” Madison cried as she raced up the stairs and threw her arms around him, “Michonne got back ages ago, what took you so long?” Daryl didn’t look at her as he robotically patted her back with his left hand before his arm dropped to his side again. She eased her hold on him and slid her hands down his arms before moving around him and poking her head out the open door, scanning the courtyard for Merle. There was no sign of him and she pulled the door closed then turned to Daryl, his vacant, haunted expression knocking the wind out of her. “You’re alone,” she whispered, her voice tight as he pressed his lips together into a thin line.

“Where's Merle?” Carol's voice filtered through the room.

“He’s probably hiding outside waiting for Daryl to clean up after him again,” Glenn answered Carol snidely before rounding on Daryl, “If this is how you handle your brother-”

“Ain't gonna be a problem anymore,” Daryl cut the younger man off, even though he scarcely spoke loud enough for even Madison, standing dutifully next to him, to hear. The room fell silent as one by one everybody noticed his demeanor; he wasn't trying to justify Merle's actions or defend him. Daryl seemed distant, hollow, like he wasn't connected to the world around him anymore.

Unable to stand the silence Beth quietly spoke up, “I don't understand; is he comin’ back?”

Daryl didn’t trust himself to speak and answered Beth with shake of the head; he couldn’t force himself to look anyone in the eye and kept his gaze focused on the ground in front of him as he took an unsteady step down the stairs.

“Daryl?” Madison whispered as she rushed to stabilize him by wrapping her arm around his waist and clinging to his left arm. Her breath caught in her chest when Daryl finally looked at her for the first time since he arrived. “No,” she gasped, his red, puffy eyes confirming what she was dreading; Merle was dead. “How?” she asked in a small, shaky voice as she urged him to sit down on the steps and lovingly ran her hand across his back. It felt so trivial, but it was the only way she could think of comforting him at the moment.

The pain in Daryl’s eyes gave way to a cool glare and Madison dropped her hand and let him finish climbing down the stairs on his own. She held her hair out of her face as she followed a few steps behind him, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what he needed from her and how to best be there for him. Daryl was in shock; the full weight of his brother’s death would hit him hard and fast when it wore off and she had no idea what to do.

“What happened?” Michonne pried, curious to know what taken place in the short amount of time between Merle releasing her and Daryl finding him.

A short, dark laugh came from Daryl at Michonne’s question. “Yer the las’ one of us saw ‘im alive an’ ya wanna know what happened?” he spat, an unmistakable edge to his cold voice, “How the hell’d ya get ‘im t’let ya go? Whaddidya do t’ ‘im?”

No one moved or spoke except Madison who held up a hand to Michonne to keep her from responding as she moved to Daryl’s side and draped her arm across his broad shoulders, “Take it easy on her, this isn’t her fault. It’s not anyone’s f-”

Daryl shook her arm away and stepped back. “Maybe it was the dumb bitch told ‘im I didn’t respect ‘im, that I’s disappointed in ‘im. That string of bullshit sound familiar, huh?” he hissed, rage and agony burning in his dark, cloudy eyes as he stared at her unforgivingly. Madison's mouth fell open and she fumbled under the weight of Daryl's merciless stare for the right words to explain herself. “Now ya stop talkin’? Couldn'ta held that damn tongue of yers ‘steada tellin’ ‘im t’step up so people’d stop thinkin’ ‘e’s trash.” Daryl had lost control of his senses; losing Merle in Atlanta had been excruciating, but it was bearable because in the back of his mind he knew there was a possibility that Merle was alive somewhere. Even though he knew he’d never see big brother again, knowing there was a chance he’d survived had given Daryl comfort and helped him move on, but all that was gone now. Merle was gone and Daryl had to face the world alone, the only surviving member of the Dixon family. He’d never felt more lost and isolated in his life and here he was aggressively pushing away the one person he wanted desperately to cling to. He could feel his angry mask starting to crack and his vision began to blur. Before he lost what little composure he had left he sidestepped Madison and stormed across the room towards the door that led deeper into the prison and to his sanctuary.

“I didn’t...I never said he was trash.” Madison said from behind Daryl, her approaching voice bringing him to a stop. His hand gripped the barred door in front of him as he stared blankly forward not trusting himself to turn around and face her just yet, uncertain if the sympathy and heartbreak in her eyes would make him cry or yell again. “I-I only said what I did to try and stop him from handing Michonne over,” she added, timidly resting her hand on his outstretched arm and sighing, “I just wanted him to live up to his potential like you have; is that so wrong? If I thought for even a second that he’d…” Madison stopped talking to regain control of herself before continuing, her voice cracking despite her efforts, “I know it doesn’t mean much right now, but I’m so sorry Daryl. He wasn’t all bad.” At this Daryl gave Madison a sidelong glance and clenched his fist around the bar even tighter, turning his knuckles white, as a fresh, gut wrenching wave of grief hit him. “I want to help you,” Madison whispered, squeezing his arm, “What can I do?”

“Don’t ya think ya’ve done ‘nough?” Daryl barked, turning on Madison abruptly. He couldn’t understand why Merle would just let Michonne go like he did. The last moments of his life seemed so completely out of character and Daryl was desperate to assign blame and make some sense out of what happened. Michonne surely had said or done something to convince Merle to let her go and Daryl knew his final conversation with his brother must have sparked something deep within Merle as well, but Madison, his poor, sweet, long-suffering Madison, had the misfortune of standing closest to him when he needed a scapegoat and he unleashed his anger on her. “Y’an’ all that crap ya told ‘im’s why ‘e tried t’take on that bastard an’ ‘is people by ‘imself! They killed ‘im an’ left ‘im t’turn!” 

Madison’s hand flew to her mouth and tears stung her eyes, she’d assumed that Daryl had just stumbled across Merle’s body, not that he’d been the one to kill Merle after he’d turned. Her stomach lurched as she remembered the sickening feeling the moment she saw Ally’s reanimated corpse shuffle towards her and she realized what she’d have to do to live. She’d been lucky, however, to be spared the pain of killing her sister and wished more than anything that she could’ve been there to do the same for Daryl. “No one should have to do what you did. You should’ve come back and told me where he was and I could’ve gone and taken care of him for you.”

“Yer talkin’ ‘bout m’brother!” Daryl snarled, staring at Madison as if she’d lost her mind, “There’s no way in hell I’s gonna leave ‘im like that!” She breathed his name and tried again to take his hand in a last ditch attempt to calm him down, but he pulled away and started pacing, “Ya don’t get it! How could ya? Ya never gave ‘im a chance; ya hated ‘im b’fore ya even knew ‘im.”

“I gave him plenty of chances. I admit he wasn’t my favorite person in the world, but that doesn’t mean I wanted him dead,” Madison insisted, pleading with the man in front of her to see reason and believe her as she fought back the tears threatening to escape at any moment, “I-I’m sorry he’s gone.”

Daryl stopped pacing abruptly and rounded on Madison, “Stop lyin’! Y’ain’t sorry fer shit! I picked ya over ‘im! Stuck with ya an’ left ‘im on ‘is own surrounded by people who hated ‘im!” The guilt eating away at him finally made it to the surface adding another layer to the heartbroken rage clouding his mind. Without warning the memory of Sophia stumbling out of Hershel’s barn flashed in Daryl’s mind and he saw a pattern, Madison clouded his judgement and distracted him as much now as she did then. She may not be the reason Merle was dead, the jury was still out on that, but she was definitely the reason Daryl wasn’t on Merle’s side at the end. “I turned m’back on m’brother fer a lousy lay,” he growled through his teeth. Madison’s eyes widened in shock then fell to the floor as she hugged herself tightly and stepped back, distancing herself from Daryl as a tear rolled down her cheek. Even through his furious haze he could see that he crossed a line; Madison had taken all of his baseless accusations and yelling in stride, but dismissing what they shared in such a crude, heartless way was too much for her. His brain told him to pull her aside, away from the others, and beg her forgiveness; he was disgusted with himself and found it easier to revert back to the man he used to be and let his pent up anger overshadow everything else he thought or felt. Clinging to the idea that Madison was the catalyst and the sole reason he detached himself from Merle Daryl closed the distance she had put between them. “Ya’ll stay the hell away from me if ya know what’s good fer ya,” he threatened, “Don’t want ya anywhere near me.” Daryl spun around and yanked open the barred door, ignoring the pang in his chest when he saw Madison’s shoulders slump and heard her mumble one last frail, heartfelt apology as he slammed the door behind him and disappeared into the maze of hallways beyond the cellblock.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When will life stop getting in the way of these updates? Probably never. I hope you enjoy the latest installment and thank you again for all of you who encourage and support; you make this story worth writing. As always, Madison is mine and nothing else.

The heavy clang from the slamming door echoed in the quiet room. Madison stared through the bars and down the dark hallway that seemed to have swallowed Daryl. It was one thing when Merle talked to her like her worth was solely determined by her body and what she was willing to do with it, but to hear Daryl talk about her that way? To have him call her a lousy lay in front of everyone she knew? That knocked the wind out of her. They’d never labeled their relationship, it never mattered; they were a team, they were together, they were family. At least that’s what Madison thought. Was it possible every tender word and loving action from Daryl had been a lie? Had Merle been right about Daryl’s feelings for her all this time? She shook her head slightly to get her bangs off her face and wiped away the lingering evidence of her tears, willing herself to stem their flow. Daryl didn’t mean the awful things he said she told herself as she did her best to squelch the doubts swimming in her mind and squared her shoulders. He loved her, he was just hurting right now; she couldn’t let what he said get to her.

“So we’re staying and fighting back?” she asked, struggling to control the quiver in her voice, as she faced the others huddled awkwardly around a table and staring at her with stunned, sympathetic expressions. Her eyes darted around the group, never landing on any individual person for too long; she didn’t trust her resolve to stay composed to withstand direct eye contact with any of the people in front of her. By jumping back to their conversation from before Daryl’s arrival she hoped the group would know not to dwell on Merle’s death, how Daryl was handling it, or how she was holding up after he attacked her; that was between the two of them and it would be resolved later. “I guess the big question now is how are we…where’re you going?” Madison asked, her original train of thought derailed by Carol passing Judith to Maggie then crossing the room, eyes trained on the door behind Madison. “Where’re you going?” she repeated when Carol ignored her question the first time and catching her by the arm.

Carol finally met Madison’s exasperated gaze and pointed at the door, “To check on him. Someone should.”

Whatever desire Madison had earlier to make peace with Carol vanished. “If he wanted to be around people he would’ve stayed here,” she said sharply, ice dripping from every word, “Don’t you think I want to check on him? He needs to be alone. For once just sit down, shut up, and accept that you don’t know him better than I do! He’s grieving; so please, let him!” Carol stared at Madison, slack jawed, for a moment, evidently shocked that she was still standing up for Daryl, but did as Madison asked and returned to her seat around the table without a word even though she did cast a fleeting, almost longing, glance at the dark hallway beyond the door. “I hope you do talk to him; he’s going to need all the support he can get,” Madison added, softening her tone; she couldn’t be upset that Daryl had lost his temper at her when she immediately turned around and snapped at Carol, “Just wait until he’s ready, okay?”

Carol nodded her graying head and a low murmur broke out as the group returned its focus to solving the problem of how they could possibly survive another attack from the Governor. Madison slowly moved next to Hershel so she could be part of the discussion, but she couldn’t stop herself from looking over her shoulder at the doorway, both hoping for and dreading Daryl’s return. “He’ll be fine,” Hershel kindly whispered to her, taking her hand and giving it a firm squeeze. Madison smiled, unconvinced, at the older man sitting beside her and turned her attention back to those surrounding her.

“I just don’t see how we’re supposed to go up against-how many people live in Woodbury?” Beth asked Michonne, trying to get a grasp of the complete picture since she was one of the few group members who had never set foot inside the town’s walls.

“About seventy-five, but that number’s dropped after the other night.”

“But that has to be including everyone,” Glenn added, “Not even a sick man like him would have kids fighting his battles.”

Madison shook her head with a grim expression on her face, “You sure about that? I don’t think anything’s beneath him.”

“So what do we do? Plan on fighting when we’re outnumbered ten to one?”

Rick wearily massaged his temples with one hand and rested his other on his holster, “We need Daryl.” He dropped his hand from his face and turned to Glenn, gesturing behind him, “Go see if you can find him and bring him back here. He’s not gonna be happy, but we need all hands on deck.”

“No!” Madison barked, surprising herself as well as the others and bringing Glenn to a stunned stop. “No,” she said again, only quieter, as she turned to Rick, “We’ve got more than enough people here to come up with a plan and Michonne knows the Governor better than anyone. Let Daryl sit this one out. I’ll fill him in later.” Rick studied her then looked back to Glenn and motioned him forward again with a tilt of his head. “I thought you of all people would understand!” she cried, her eyes fixed on Rick, “How many hours of your daughter’s life came and went before you even held her because you were hiding somewhere in the prison when Lori died?”

Rick’s brow furrowed as he stared at the redhead challenging him. “Madison,” Maggie whispered, warning her friend to reel it in, but her warning fell on deaf ears.

“That was different; our lives weren’t at risk at the time,” Rick said, struggling to keep his voice calm.

“Right. Instead you abandoned your son and left him to deal with his mother’s death by himself. That’s much better,” Madison sneered.

“All right, that’s enough!” Rick bellowed. He looked over his shoulder to Glenn who was frozen mid stride. “What’re you waitin’ for? Go find him,” Rick ordered before facing Madison again and taking a step closer to her, “What happened with my family after Lori doesn’t concern you.” Madison opened her mouth to argue, but Rick cut her off, “And what’s happenin’ now is a hell of a lot bigger than Daryl and his brother. If you can accept that you can stay, if not you’re free to go.”

“Rick, I...I don’t know where that came from,” she gasped, mentally kicking herself for losing control twice in the span of just a few minutes. Her cheeks burned with shame as her eyes fell to her shoes; all she wanted to do was protect Daryl’s need for privacy, she never meant to attack the people around her, “I’m sorry. I’d like to stay. I want to help.”

Rick watched her closely then nodded his consent and turned back to the others, reviving the discussion. The evening crept by as ideas and suggestions were made and shot down. “There’s just no way we can make a stand against an entire town, not without casualties,” Carol muttered, defeated and exhausted.

The group murmured their agreement and a light went on in Madison’s head. “Maybe not,” she whispered, breaking her silence with her first words since her outburst, “We’re going about this the wrong way. It’s like Michonne said earlier; we just have to make getting to us more trouble than it’s worth.” She paused, waiting for someone to cut her off. When she was met only with curious expressions she continued, her brain rapidly forming a plan as she spoke, “We’re outgunned and outnumbered, so we outsmart them. If we pack everything up, move our cars off site, it will look like we made a run for it. The Governor is blinded by his thirst for revenge and he’ll order everyone inside, just to make sure we’re really gone.”

“Once they’re all inside we can ambush them,” Rick added, catching Madison’s eye and giving her a nod of approval, “This way we’ll have the upper hand. We’ll have the element of surprise, not them.”

Hershel shook his head, “I don’t want to see a slaughter. The Governor’s the enemy, not people thinkin’ they’re fightin’ for their lives.”

“We don’t have to kill them,” Michonne said, facing the older man, “We’ll scare them off when they’re inside. We can hide and set off the alarms and smoke grenades.”

Madison nodded, “These people aren’t soldiers. They’ll run; we just need to give them a little nudge.”

The end of her sentence was drowned out by an engine revving in the courtyard. The group held its collective breath and everyone clutched their weapons tighter. All eyes instinctively turned to Rick, looking for orders, but he only held his finger to his mouth to keep them quiet while he listened. Madison strained her ears to hear above the blood rushing through her ears; how had the enemy gotten so close to the prison without the group realizing it sooner? How much of the plan did they hear? Were they wrong and the battle was going to be fought in the dark? The engine continued to roar and her mouth fell open and her brows knit together. “That’s Daryl’s bike,” she whispered, catching Rick’s eye.

“You sure?”

“Absolutely,” she said at her normal volume as she threw the strap to the shotgun in her hands over her head and bounded up the stairs. She paused with her hand on the door, maybe one of the Governor’s men turned on the motorcycle to lure them outside to investigate and into an ambush.  She opened the door just far enough to see both the bike and Daryl drive away towards the gate. An exasperated huff escaped as Madison pulled the door open the rest of the way and stepped into the crisp night air, cursing Daryl and his stupidity under her breath as she ran down the steps. She called to him and heaved a sigh of relief when he brought the motorcycle to a stop and shot an irritated glare her way as he swung his leg over the bike, but the relief disappeared when he turned his back to her and started fumbling with the gate’s lock. Madison opened her mouth to beg him to stop, but a startled yelp came out instead when she missed the bottom step and fell, landing painfully on her hands and knees.

It amazed Daryl how quickly Madison’s cry cut through his cloud of anger as instinct took over and he ran to her side and helped her to her feet. “Y'alright?”

“You idiot!” she snapped, shoving him and ignoring the glare that took over his face, erasing the worry in his eyes from seconds before. “What do you think you’re doing? You can’t make things right by getting yourself killed! That won’t bring him back!”

“Ya think I don't know that?” he shouted, hackles raised.

“Then what were you trying to do?”

Daryl’s eyes narrowed at her as his mind raced, he didn’t have an answer for her. He didn’t know what he was trying to accomplish by leaving. All he knew is he wanted the Governor dead at any cost, but he couldn’t very well admit that to the woman standing in front of him so he did the only thing he could think of and turned the argument back onto her, “What’re ya doin’ out ‘ere anyway, huh? What part of ‘leave me the hell alone’ didn’t ya get?”

Madison closed her eyes and took a deep breath before answering, straining to keep a hold on her emotions. There hadn’t been this much tension between the pair since the storage units. They’d argued since, of course, but she feared if she lost her temper it would push them past the breaking point again and she wasn’t willing to let that happen. She opened her eyes and met his scathing gaze as she spoke, wishing she could erase the anxious tone of her voice, “I heard the bike and I wanted to-“

“Wan’ed t’what?” Daryl snarled, his fierce blue eyes boring into Madison’s as he stalked forward, trapping her with her back against the rough brick wall and her heart pounding in her chest. “See if I’s doin’ okay? Make sure we’re fine?” he asked, malice saturating his every word as he leaned towards her, putting his face mere inches from hers.

“Stop you from making a terrible mistake,” she answered softly as she tentatively brushed her hand against his.

There was a tense pause. Daryl didn’t respond right away, he didn’t pull back from her touch, and his eyes stayed fixed on hers. His face seemed to soften slightly, although it was hard to tell in the dark courtyard with the moon as their only source of light, and Madison caught herself hoping that she’d managed to get through to him. Desperate to cling to the anger surging through him that kept the full weight of Merle’s death at bay he spat, “Yer a real piece of work.” Before she could talk him down further Daryl turned around, threw open the door to the cage enclosing the staircase, and stormed into the courtyard with Madison following a few steps behind, wincing as she bent her sore knees for the first time after her fall. The door closed behind her and Daryl spun around, “Ya deaf’r somethin’? I say I don’t wan’ ya anywhere near me an’ y’hear follow me like a damn dog? Ain’t warnin’ y’again! Leave me be!”

“Or what?” Madison shot back defiantly, throwing her arms up, “You’ll yell some more? That’s fine, I can take it.” She folded her arms and mulled over what she was going to say next with her tongue in her cheek, “You have every right to grieve; I’m not taking that away from you, but you don’t get to do this. You don’t get to pull away; we’ve been through too much!” She wearily ran her hand across her face then caught his eye and continued, “So...blame me if that’s what you need to do, like I said I can take it. I’m not going anywhere. And you don’t have to talk to me, you don’t even have to look at me, but you can’t stop me from being here for you. You don’t have to do this alone, Daryl.” She glanced around the courtyard looking for someplace to go and decided to make her way back to the wall. “I guess I should say I’m not going to let you go through this alone,” she told him, leaning against the wall before adding, her voice barely above a whisper as she slid her back down the wall and settled into a seated position, “Heaven knows you were there for me after Ally died. I’m just sorry I wasn't there to do for you what you did for me.”

Daryl disregarded Madison’s comment with a dismissive wave and turned his back to her, shaking in his head and muttering to himself as he began pacing. He worked incredibly hard to avoid letting her sincerity and concern touch his heart because he knew once that happened not only would he be overwhelmed with the loss of his brother, he’d also be consumed with guilt over how he spoke to Madison earlier and he wasn’t ready to face that yet.

Madison released a miserable sigh and tore her eyes from Daryl’s pacing form; he was like a wounded animal at the moment, a wounded animal that desperately needed help, but would attack anyone foolish enough to try. Not knowing what to do with herself she inspected the new hole in the knee of her jeans and gingerly wiped away the blood seeping from her fresh scrapes. Daryl’s constant movement came to a stop and Madison cautiously looked up when she heard something she thought was a sniff. Her hand covered her mouth when she saw him angrily wiping his face with the back of his hand. “Daryl?” His head slumped and he planted his hands on his hips as he tried to regain control, but failed and looked over his shoulder at Madison, wondering why she was still there after everything he’d said. The anguish in his eyes tore her apart and she extended her hand to him, welcoming him to her with a small, shaky voice, “Come here.”

Daryl stared at her for a moment as he considered her offer and she lowered her hand and patted the ground next her. With a small nod he accepted her invitation and sheepishly took a seat to her left, refusing to look at her and furiously sniffing back his tears. Madison had never seen him like this and had no idea what to do next; she knew how to handle him when he was angry, but devastation was new. She slowly reached for him then lost her nerve and rested her hand on the ground between them, unsure if taking his hand would help him or make things worse. The movement caught his attention and he watched her hand from the corner of his eye before taking it in his and clinging to it with all his might. Finally understanding that Daryl needed contact Madison gently freed her hand from his grasp. When she pulled away he faced her with a confused, hurt expression and she gave him a sad, sympathetic smile in return as she tenderly brushed his hair off his forehead then wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pulled him to her. Safely encircled in Madison’s loving embrace the last of Daryl’s walls came crashing down and he cried against her chest harder than he ever remembered crying before as he held on to her like she was the only thing in this world keeping him alive. Tears welled in Madison’s eyes, but she blinked them back and gently rocked the grieving man in her arms back and forth, resting her head against his and whispering to him over and over again, “I know, I know it hurts. I’m so sorry.”

Eventually Daryl’s tears subsided and his ragged breathing returned to normal. Neither one moved as they continued holding each other in silence while Daryl mourned his brother and both forgetting, for the time being, the Governor’s looming attack. Madison glanced down at him, expecting to see him asleep and gently pressed her lips to the top of his head when she realized he was awake, staring blankly into the dark courtyard. “Do you need anything?” Daryl jumped slightly when she spoke and sat up a little, staring at her like he was surprised to see her there. “Whoa. Hey, it’s okay, it’s just me,” she soothed, softly cupping his face and running her thumb across his cheekbone, “Can I get you anything?”

“No,” he mumbled with a shake of his head, staring at his hands, “It ain’t like b’fore, like after Atlanta, ‘e ain’t gonna show up someday. ‘E’s gone fer good, Maddie.” There was a pregnant pause and Madison waited for Daryl to continue, sensing there was more on his mind. He took a shuddering breath and whispered, “‘E ain’t comin’ back ‘... I killed ‘im.”

Madison sat forward and stared at him with her mouth slightly open; she had no idea he was wrestling with guilt, however unfounded, over being the one to put Merle down after he turned. “No, you didn’t. You took down a walker. You didn’t kill Merle any more than you’ve killed the dozens of other walkers you’ve taken out since this started. You know that…don’t you?” Daryl shrugged away her question as he sniffed and wiped his face again. Her heart broke for him and she felt so utterly useless. Whenever her world was falling apart and Daryl held her in his powerful arms she always felt like somehow everything would be all right in the end, but she was failing to give him even a fraction of that comfort and she hated herself for it. She pushed herself away from the wall and sat on her heels in front of him, taking his face in her hands and forcing him to look her in the eye. “Listen to me. You didn’t have a choice; you did what you had to do. The Governor killed him, not you. It wasn’t really him.” Her voice cracked as she took his large, rough hands in hers and pressed her lips to his knuckles, desperate to ease his pain in any way, “Daryl, honey, it wasn’t Merle.”

Logically Daryl knew Madison was right, but that didn’t take away the memory of repeatedly driving his buck knife into his brother’s skull as he took out thirty years of frustration and the irrational betrayal he felt by Merle leaving him to face the world as the last Dixon standing. His shoulders slumped and he heavily leaned forward on his knees with his elbows deciding the reason why he was even struggling with this was because the walker still looked like Merle. It wasn’t half rotten and falling apart like the rest of them and that made it harder for Daryl to separate his brother from the monster he became when they still looked like the same man.   

Madison’s legs began protesting the way she was sitting and she braced herself on Daryl’s forearms as she shifted positions so she was kneeling, suppressing a smile when he automatically turned his hands upward and gripped her by the elbows to steady her as she moved. Once she was situated she studied his face as she ran her fingers through his hair and whispered, “It doesn’t seem like it now, but I promise you one day everything will be all right.” His eyes fell and she drew him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders and lovingly playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. Daryl sat still for a moment before moving his hands to Madison’s waist and holding on to her.

The creaking of the prison door as it opened went unnoticed by the couple until Maggie cleared her throat, poking her head out of the partially opened door, “I’m not tryin’ to rush you, but Rick’s wonderin’ what happened to you two. We’ve got a lot of work to do and not a whole lot of time.”

Madison glanced back at Maggie, “We’ll be right there.” Maggie nodded and cast a fleeting, sympathetic look at Daryl before slipping back inside. When they were alone again Madison softly kissed the top of Daryl’s head, “We’d better get inside before Rick comes out and drags us in himself. Are you up for this? If not I can make up some excuse…”

Daryl sat up straight and looked in golden brown eyes of the woman in front of him, amazed by the compassion they held. “I’ll be ‘lright, Buster. Don’t worry ‘bout me,” he said, gently touching her cheek.

“It’s my job,” she said quietly with a hint of a smile.

With a shake of his head and a heavy sigh Daryl pushed himself to his feet and offered his hand to Madison, helping her up. “We got a plan fer t’morrow?”

“The start of one, yeah. They’ll fill you in...fill us in, I guess. I’m sure they’ve tweaked it while I’ve been out here.”

“‘Lright,” he said with a nod, holding open the cage door for her, “Time t’make that bastard an’ ‘is buddies pay.” Madison walked through the door and started up the stairs while Daryl pulled it closed behind them. “Hold up.” She came to a stop and gave the man at the bottom of the stairs a quizzical look as she descended a few steps so she was eye level with him. He timidly ran his finger along the edge of the bracelet poking out of Madison’s left sleeve; he’d had such high hopes of becoming the kind of man she deserved when he gave it to her, but he constantly came up short. He covered her small hand hanging on to the chain link surrounding them and swallowed back the lump forming in his throat. “Y’know I didn’t mean none of that shit I said inside, right?” he asked with an anxious look in Madison’s eyes, his voice tight.

“You never do,” she answered with a nod; a hint of the pain his words caused her flashed across her face and was gone as quickly as it appeared, “I’m letting you off the hook this time because of Merle, but you’ve got to stop lashing out at me like that when you’re hurting. Just because you don’t mean it doesn’t make it okay or hurt less. You’re supposed to be the person I feel safest with.” Daryl’s eyes fell to his shoes and he gave her a small nod to let her know he understood. Madison pressed a light kiss to his lips, assuring him that they were okay, “That’s all I’m going to say about it. Let’s get inside.”

No one slept that night. Everyone had their assignments as they prepared the prison for the Governor’s arrival the next day. Traps were set throughout the maze of hallways and stashes of weapons and ammo were placed at each person’s post they would man during the battle. At Michonne’s suggestion they even went as far as letting several walkers into the prison’s inner corridors to control which direction and how far into the prison the Governor and his men would go.

The inky black of night gave way to the deep blues and purples of dawn and the group scrambled to pack up their belongings and get them in the cars, praying with every passing minute that the Governor would wait until the sun was up to attack. Daryl and Madison followed the rest of the group into the cellblock to gather their few possessions. As they cut through the common area, Madison’s pace slowed as she watched Hershel struggle to stay balanced and pack his medical supplies. Daryl tentatively brushed her arm to get her attention, still ashamed of how he treated her when he got back, “I’ll grab our shit, go on an’ help the ol’ man, ‘kay?”

Madison gave him a small, grateful smile and squeezed his hand before hurrying in the other direction. “You sit, I’ve got it,” she told the older man as she bent down and hoisted the bag of supplies onto the table.

“I never felt like an old man before I lost my leg,” Hershel said as he sat down and started cramming as much into the bag as possible, “No one lets me do anythin’ for myself these days.”

“Yeah, having people care about you must be a real downer,” Madison chuckled, holding the bag open for him as he filled it. “I think we’ve fit about all we can in here. What should we do with the rest?” she asked, eyeing the few remaining items strewn across the table. There wasn’t much left over, just a few rolls of gauze, a partially empty tube of Neosporin, an ace bandage, and a few other odds and ends, but it was enough that Madison didn’t want to leave it behind and chance the Governor swiping it as he led his army through their home.

“If you'd do me a favor and grab the sack on my bed, I bet we can make the rest fit.”

“Weren't you just complaining that no one lets you do things for yourself anymore?” she asked with a good natured smile as she turned towards the cellblock.

Hershel shook his head after her. “I've had a change of heart in the past few seconds,” he said when Madison returned and set the sack on the table next to the bag of medical supplies. He sifted through the sack and pulled out his well-worn Bible and started flipping through its pages while she stuffed the remaining supplies in the sack.

“Not really the time for Bible study, is it?”

“No it’s not,” he chuckled, handing Madison the book and pointing to a highlighted verse, “But I thought I’d leave this man a little message.”

Madison took the book with a quizzical look then read where the older man was pointing, “‘And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.’” A wide smile spread across her face as she handed the Bible back to Hershel, “Leave it to you to find a way to say ‘screw you’ using scripture.”

“I don't know what you're talkin’ about,” he said with a smile as he stood, tucking the Bible in his waistband then hobbling towards the cellblock.

“Uh-huh.” She watched Hershel make his way from the room then shook her head when she turned around and saw the bags on the table. “I’ll just take these outside then?” she asked the empty room with a chuckle as she loaded her arms and climbed the stairs leading to the courtyard. She crossed to the passenger side of the Hyundai and dropped Hershel’s backs on the ground so she could open the back door. After taking a few minutes to shove a few other bags and supplies aside so the bags would fit she turned and grabbed the nearest sack.

“‘Ere, lemme,” Daryl said as he came up behind her and placed his hand on the small of her back before taking the bag from her hands and loading the car for her.

“Thanks,” she murmured when he slammed the door closed.

“I know Rick’s got a plan, but if the shit starts hittin’ the fan-”

Madison ran her hand up and down his upper arm, “Then I meet you by those tracks. I haven't forgotten.”

Daryl pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded before quickly drawing her face towards his and kissing her. Madison closed her eyes and surrendered to him, melting into his arms. There was an urgency behind the kiss, like he knew they were running out of time. He had only kissed her like this once before when they were trapped in the storage unit and thought walkers were breaking down the door and while Madison would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy the kiss, she hated the resignation behind it. “Stay safe, y’hear me?” Daryl asked her as he embraced her, his warm breath against her skin giving her goosebumps, “I can’t lose ya too.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” she answered against his shoulder, holding him as tightly as she could. Madison believed their plan would work, but she would be foolish not to admit that there was a chance things could still go wrong and she took a deep breath before adding, “Don’t do anything stupid in there. Please be careful.”

Madison rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn as she leaned against the side of the Hyundai. She opened her eyes and scanned the forest surrounding her and the small group she was protecting, avoiding the resentful glare thrown her way by Carl. Despite her insistence that she stay and defend the prison Rick sent her into the woods to “help” Carl watch over Hershel, Beth, and Judith. It was painfully obvious that Carl begrudged Madison's presence, believing that he could've handled standing guard over his baby sister and the others on his own. Truth be told Madison didn't wholeheartedly disagree. Carl was capable, even at his age, and Beth’s aim was improving. Even Hershel wasn’t completely defenseless so long as he didn’t have to run. Madison sighed; it always ended up the same, they always had to run and with Beth tending Judith she wasn’t much help. Like it or not, Rick was right and he had her where she needed to be; defending the defenseless once again.

“Walker,” Beth whispered, nudging Madison and pointing towards the approaching monster with a jerk of her head as she nervously rocked the sleeping baby in her arms, afraid she’d wake up and start fussing.

“I got it,” Madison groaned, pushing herself away from the car and grabbing the new knife she got from the stash of weapons Rick brought back from his former “friend”. She paused for a second, trying to decide if she should try throwing it; this new knife was definitely several steps above the flimsy pocket knife she protected herself with after Woodbury, which she now kept tucked away inside her boot at all times so she’d never be caught without a weapon again, but it still felt foreign in her hand and she didn’t trust herself not to miss the target. Making up her mind to take the walker out by hand she took a couple of steps towards it then heard a muffled pop and stopped, dumbfounded, when the walker collapsed. She spun around and glared at the young boy staring back at her defiantly. “Carl, I said I had it,” she said in a harsh whisper.

“You hesitated!” he shot back.

Madison planted her free hand on her hip and took several deep breaths to calm herself down, getting into a screaming match with a twelve year old boy wouldn’t solve anything. “I didn’t hesitate. I had time so I weighed my options. You didn’t know what I was going to do. What if I lunged for it just as you pulled the trigger? Did you think of that?” she asked, straining to hide the frustration in her voice, “We have to be smart with our ammo; we don’t have a lot to spare. We don’t know who or what we’re going to cross paths with out here and we don’t know how much ammo they’re going to burn through back home. We need to make every bullet count.”

“I should be there,” Carl insisted with an accusatory tone as if he believed it was Madison’s fault he was standing by a parked car in the woods and not fighting for the prison with the others.

“Your father knows what he’s doin’ keepin’ you out here,” Hershel said firmly, hoping to assuage Carl’s bruised ego.

“No he doesn’t! We wouldn’t be in this mess if he’d killed the Governor when he had the chance!” Carl rounded on Madison, “And you shouldn’t be here; I don’t need a babysitter; I can keep everyone safe without your help.”

“You’re right,” was Madison’s only response, although the thought crossed her mind that what Carl actually needed was an attitude adjustment. She kept this to herself, however, deciding it was better to just agree with Carl for the time being rather than letting him continue to pull her focus away from what was really important right now. She sighed, “Just promise me no guns unless it’s absolutely necessary, all right?”

Carl gave Madison a reluctant nod and she leaned heavily against the car again. Several minutes passed in tense silence before an explosion ripped through the stillness causing the four of them to jump a little. “It’s startin’,” Hershel observed, stating the obvious.

As a cacophony of gunfire began Madison sheathed her knife and picked up the rifle she’d set down against the car. She brought the gun to her eye, peered through the scope, and watched breathlessly as the Governor and his men attacked her home. “They’re taking out the walkers in the yard before they head inside,” she informed the others as a way of distracting herself from the danger her family would be facing in a matter of seconds, “That’s a bonus we weren’t counting on.” Before long the guns fell silent and Madison saw the enemy drive through the now walker free yard and up to the cell block. “Well, they’re heading inside,” she whispered, lowering the rifle and shaking her head to get her hair out of her face, “Nothing to do now but wait.”

Time passed torturously slow as each silent minute dragged by while the group waited restlessly for the Governor’s retreat. Beth bounced the now awake baby on her hip and lightly patted her back in hopes of keeping her happy and quiet while Carl, Hershel, and Madison strained to hear anything that would hint at the progress inside the prison walls and searched for warning signs of advancing walkers drawn towards them by the gunfire. Finally the welcome blaring of alarms tore through the trees alerting Madison and those around her that their plan was on track. She swiftly raised her rifle once again to monitor the action, slightly dumbfounded at the speed of the Governor’s army as they ran away from the prison. “They're really leaving,” she breathed, “I can't believe it worked.”

Madison’s excitement was short lived, brought to an end by the snapping of a branch to her left. Gun still raised, she spun around towards the sound to see a young man, roughly Beth’s age give or take a year, running towards them, panic stricken. “That’s close enough,” she barked, taking a few steps towards him to put herself between the others and the enemy. Carl’s hat appeared next to her and she groaned slightly seeing his raised gun in her peripheral vision, wishing he would step back and let her handle this.

The kid skidded to a stop, holding his shotgun by the barrel with one hand and holding his empty hand in the air in surrender. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Don’t shoot!” he begged, his wide eyes darting between the guns aimed at him.

“Where’re the rest of your people?” Madison asked, tearing her gaze from his frightened face and scanning the trees for movement.

“How should I know? They left me,” he answered, gesturing with his gun nervously.

“Drop the weapon son,” Hershel said firmly, leaning against a rock for support, his own gun drawn as well.

Madison stretched out her hand and took another small step forward, “Give it here.”

“Sure,” the young man said, his voice shaking as much as his hand as he held his gun out to Madison. His eyes bounced between Carl and Hershel who both still had their guns drawn. He leaned forward, extending his arm as far as he could to hand the gun over, fear locking his feet in place. He turned to Madison again, “Here, take it.”

She wrapped her hand around the cool metal of the barrel as she gave the skittish teen in front of her a brisk nod to steady him. Without warning the same muffled pop she’d heard minutes earlier sounded and deep crimson blood flowed from the fresh bullet hole in the young man’s forehead. Madison couldn’t look away as his head snapped backwards from the force of the shot before he crumpled to the ground with his eyes and mouth still wide, frozen in fear. She turned and stared, slack jawed, at Carl who was still aiming his gun where the kid had been standing, staring at his limp body on the ground without an ounce of remorse in his eyes. Words failed her; she was starting to come to terms with the fact that in this world sometimes you had to kill to stay alive, but this wasn’t one of those times. This young man’s death wasn’t necessary. Madison forced her eyes from Carl and looked to Hershel for guidance only to find him in as much shock as she was. The older man felt her eyes on him and, without looking away from Carl, told her in a voice straining to stay calm, “Keep an eye on the prison, Madison; let us know when it’s safe to head back.”

She nodded and turned her scope back on the prison, running on autopilot, as she waited for the all clear signal from home. The prolonged, deafening silence was finally broken by three sharp blasts from a car horn and the small group climbed into the Hyundai while Madison walked over to the dead boy and took the gun lying on the ground next to him; she felt a little like a grave robber, but he didn’t need it anymore and they desperately did. She forced herself to shut down that way of thinking, to try and let go of a mindset that had no place in the brutal world she found herself in, she climbed into the driver’s seat and drove them back to the prison, suddenly anxious about what they’d find once they got back.

Carol greeted them at the gate and swung it closed behind them while the group from the forest jumped out of the car and started to grab their belongings to move back into the prison. Carol silently stood next to Madison and took the duffle and sleeping bag the redhead handed her. “We can come back and get the rest later,” Madison mumbled with a grunt as she threw a large bag over her shoulder and heaved a large, heavy plastic bucket with part of their food supply out of the trunk of the car.

Carol nodded and fell into step beside Madison as they made their way inside the cellblock. She glanced around and noticed the troubled expressions on everyone’s faces except Carl’s and asked in a low voice, “Something happened out there. Is everything all right?”

“No,” Madison answered quietly, casting a sidelong glance at the woman next to her and shaking her head, “No it’s not.” She was saved from having to explain further by Glenn opening the door and passing them to help unload the car.

Once inside Madison stood off to the side and let the rest file in while she took stock of the prison’s condition. From the little she could see of the cells from where she stood in the common area their home looked relatively unscathed and she let out a deep sigh even though she couldn’t fully shake the feeling that they still weren’t safe here. That man brought an army into their home and it felt different to her, like it had been defiled. She was so wrapped up in this train of thought she didn’t notice anyone had joined her until the bucket she was holding was carefully taken from her and Daryl’s gravelly voice cut through her clouded mind. “Yer in one piece.”

“So are you,” she said, following him to the far side of the room and dropping the bag over her shoulder on the floor against the wall, “Thanks.” Daryl stood and gave her a confused look. “For taking that,” she explained, pointing to the bucket, “Not for staying in one piece, but, I mean, thanks for doing that too.”

A small, half-hearted chuckle escaped Daryl. It seemed wrong to laugh when not even a full day had passed since his brother was murdered and the group’s fight for safety wasn’t over yet, but he was so relieved that Madison was safe that, for a moment, none of that mattered. “Well ya told me not t’do anythin’ stupid.”

A weary smile pulled at the corner of her mouth then faded as she ran her hand through her hair and rolled her head from side to side. Daryl studied her through narrow eyes; something wasn’t right, something went wrong while they were away from the prison. He caressed her back and opened his mouth to ask her what was going on, but closed it when he caught part of the conversation between Carl and his father.

“I did my job out there. Just like all of you; took out one of the Governor’s soldiers.”

“What’s Carl talkin’ ‘bout? Y’all were attacked?” Daryl asked Madison hoarsely. He looked around the room, everyone from the group seemed fine, no one looked hurt, but the idea still twisted his stomach in knots, “Asskicker cry an’ give ya away? What happened?”

Madison answered with an incredulous laugh, “Attacked? No, but at least that would’ve justified Carl shooting a scared teenager who was running away and handing his gun over to me.”

“Shit.”

“Exactly,” Madison sighed, folding her arms and staring at the ground, “I’m trying to accept that things are different now, you know I am. It’s just...there’s no good reason for that kid to be dead.”

“Sometimes the wrong ones get caught in the crossfire, Buster.” Daryl watched the internal struggle play out across her face and, unsure of what else to say to make her feel better, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, “I’m goin’ t’Woobury with Rick an’ the rest of ‘em. We’re gonna end this fer good.”

“Good,” she said as her head snapped up and she met Daryl’s gaze. “We can’t keep living in fear; when are we leaving?”

Daryl’s eyes narrowed again, “Whaddya mean ‘we’?”

“I’m coming with you.”

“Ain’t no way in hell that’s happenin’.”

“That wasn’t me asking for permission,” she said defiantly, conviction burning in her eyes, “I want this whole thing over as much as you do. I let the Governor slip through my fingers twice and look what it’s cost us. I’m not letting him get away again, I can’t. So I’m coming and I don’t care what you or Rick or anyone else says.”

She held her breath waiting for Daryl to fight back, but he knew there was no point in arguing with the woman in front of him once her mind was made up. “Better get ya geared up then.”

It took everything Madison had in her to stop herself from letting her surprise that he had agreed so easily register on her face which would have immediately undermined her display of confidence. Instead she nodded and inhaled deeply, “Okay. I’ll grab my gun and meet you outside.” Before Daryl had a chance to say anything or she could see the amused glint in his eye she had no doubt would be there, she turned on her heel and quickly gathered some nearby weapons then followed the others back out into the courtyard.

“Rick, we’re staying.”

Madison glanced at Glenn as he gestured between Maggie and himself when she came to a stop by Michonne standing by the pickup. “Why?” she asked him before she could stop herself.

“We don’t know where the Governor is,” he answered before turning to Rick and adding, “If he comes back, we’ll hold him off.”

“Jus’ the three of us?” Daryl asked, his tone indiscernible.

“Four,” Madison corrected him, “This doesn’t change anything, if anything you need me there more than before.”

“‘Lright,” he said, throwing his crossbow over his shoulder and mounting his motorcycle.

Madison put her hand on Maggie’s shoulder and squeezed it as she crossed in front of the truck and climbed on the bike behind Daryl in silence. There was nothing to be said, they were on a mission and needed to stay focused. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, in through the nose then out through the mouth, to steady her nerves. She’d signed up to go without any idea what they were hoping to accomplish other than killing the man who had been terrorizing them for weeks, but she didn’t know if they were going to try to sneak in and out unnoticed like before or charge the gates, guns blazing. It was entirely possible that the others didn’t know either. Had she agreed to go on a suicide mission without realizing it? The motorcycle beneath her roared to life and her grip on Daryl tightened as she braced for him to drive forward, but before he did he reached for her hand and held it firmly for a moment and Madison could instantly feel some of the tension leave her body. Everything would be okay, she told herself over and over as Daryl led the pickup truck carrying Rick and Michonne towards Woodbury.

“What the hell?” Daryl muttered under his breath as he hit the brakes several miles into their journey. Bodies and the walkers feeding on them littered the road alongside several abandoned vehicles, the aftermath of something truly horrific which he was glad to have missed.

“What happened here?” Madison breathed, hopping off the bike and pulling out her knife. Her eyes danced across the carnage in front of her as she took the scene in. “I recognize that truck,” she said pointing to the cammo covered vehicle closest to them, “I saw it earlier driving towards the prison. That’s one of the trucks from Woodbury.”

Daryl grunted in agreement as he snatched his bow from the back of the bike and walked towards the walkers in the road, who were starting to look up from their meal when the tantalizing promise of fresh meat caught their attention. “Keep tight,” he said to her in a low whisper, shooting a bolt into the skull of the nearest walker.

The group fanned out and took out the walkers quickly, thanks in a large part to Michonne who could kill several at once with her katana, a skill Madison envied as she grabbed one of the monsters by the collar to keep it still while she drove her knife into its brain. “These haven’t been dead long,” she observed, talking to no one in particular. She made her way towards Daryl and peered between the slats of the camouflaged truck’s bed to make sure there were no walkers trapped inside. “Does this mean we have another group to worry about?” she asked, casting him a sidelong glance, “Because any group who could take out this many people at once is dange-”

Someone, or something, threw itself against the driver’s side window from inside the cab, cutting Madison off mid-sentence. Daryl jumped then pushed her against the truck bed, covering her body with his and shielding her from whatever was trying to get to them. When it became clear a moment later that they weren’t in immediate danger, Daryl stepped away from Madison and turned to investigate what was inside the truck. Madison moved to get a closer look and gasped when she saw a terrified woman with her hands and face pressed against the glass staring back at them.

“Get out of the truck, slowly,” Rick ordered, cocking his pistol and taking several large steps towards the woman. Hunting knife in hand, Daryl threw open the door and the trembling woman stumbled out of the truck, hands in the air. Madison stepped forward, gun raised, understanding that now wasn’t the time to let her sympathy get the better of her although the terror in the woman’s eyes tested her resolve.

“Please,” the woman begged, swallowing hard, her thick, curly brown hair blowing in the slight breeze and getting stuck in the drying blood on her cheek, “You have every reason to, but please don’t shoot me. We were wrong to believe him; please, I didn’t know what he was like.”

“What who was like? What are you talking about?” Madison asked.

“The Governor. He-he did this.”

Daryl scoffed, “Bullshit.”

“You expect us to believe he fired on his own people?” Rick looked around him then shook his head before continuing, “Do you really think we’re that stupid?” The woman shook her head vigorously, eyeing the gun in Rick’s hand, the gun that seemed to pose the greatest threat at the moment.

“Why would he do that?” Michonne asked, breaking her silence.

The woman opened her mouth and closed it again, fear getting the better of her and keeping her from speaking. “Best start talkin’ if ya don’t wanna end up like them,” Daryl growled, gesturing towards the bodies scattered around them.

“Because we-because we wouldn’t listen to him. We ran. And…” she swallowed again, “And we wouldn’t go back once we saw… He made you sound like murderers, waiting for a chance to kill us and take our home. Andrea was right. He was the dangerous one.” A single tear rolled down her face and she bit her lip to keep the rest at bay. Rick closed the distance between himself and the woman in front of him and checked her for weapons. When he was satisfied that she was unarmed he lowered his gun and the rest followed suit. The woman dropped her hands and stared at the remains of her friends, “I should’ve listened to her, but I thought she’d snapped.” She pulled her eyes from the half-eaten corpses and looked at Madison, “Where is she? Did she make it?” Madison didn’t answer and instead stared at her in bewilderment. “She ran, jumped the wall. You didn’t…”

Madison covered her mouth and comprehension dawned. “Daryl,” she said turning to him and gripping his arm in panic, concern for Andrea’s safety strangling the rest of her sentence. If the Governor tracked her down it could already be too late.

He nodded, reading Madison’s fears as they clouded her face. “Yer comin’ with us,” he growled at the nameless woman then added, glancing at Rick and slinging his crossbow across his back, “That psycho’s got ‘er tied up at Woodbury. I’d bet my left nut on it.” He abruptly turned and marched back to his motorcycle, Madison following close behind. “C’mon, let’s go!” he yelled over his shoulder when the other three stayed where they were.

Night had fallen by the time they reached Woodbury. Rather than risk their vehicles being seen and heard, they decided to leave them behind and trudged the rest of the way on foot; it was slower and the pace was driving Madison insane, but it was better than setting themselves up for an attack. Michonne made sure to keep the newest addition to their ranks close as they hugged the shadows in an attempt to stay hidden as they approached the town’s front gate. A gunshot ripped through the unsettling stillness and the group broke into a low sprint to the cover of an abandoned car, returning the gunfire as they ran. When they reached the car Daryl pulled Madison down as low to the ground as he could, hoping she’d stay covered and safe, but knowing that wouldn’t be the case, before peering over the trunk of the car and shooting back at Woodbury’s guards. Madison pushed herself to her knees and fired two shots, breaking the car’s back door windows and clearing a path for her to aim through.

Eventually there was a lull in the shootout, each side waiting for the other to make the next move so they could stop wasting their bullets in this futile standoff. Without warning the woman they picked up on the side of the road stood up, hands raised, and shouted, “Tyreese! It’s me! Don’t-”

“Get down!” Rick said through clenched teeth, grabbing the new addition by the arm and pulling her back to the ground.

“Karen! Karen, are you okay?” a man’s deep voice called from the shadows along the wall surrounding Woodbury.

“I’m fine,” Karen yelled back to Tyreese, wrenching herself free from Rick’s grasp and standing again, glaring at him as she walked forwards with her hands held up by her face.

“Where’s the Governor?” Tyreese’s disembodied voice carried through the night. 

Madison held her breath while she waited for the newcomer to answer and kept her aim firmly in the direction of the man’s voice. They didn’t know this woman, this Karen, and they’d trusted her. Madison suddenly felt exceedingly stupid for believing everything this woman said as truth. What if she had led them into a trap and at her signal Tyreese and the others on guard duty would open fire again? What if the Governor was waiting for them just on the other side of the gates?

Karen walked out of the shadows and into the pale light cast by the moon so the man standing watch on the wall could see her face and know that she was, in fact, all right. “He fired on everyone,” she answered, swallowing the lump forming in her throat, “He killed them all.”

Relief washed over Madison when Karen told her friends the same story she told them on the road. She closed her eyes for a moment and rested her forehead on the cool metal of the car offering them protection and let her mind wrap around the fact that there wasn’t going to be an ambush, at least not an ambush from the Governor. The people of Woodbury still saw them as killers and might take action with or without their sadistic leader’s orders.

“Why are you with them?” Tyreese yelled, an uncertain, accusatory edge to his voice.

“They saved me.”

“We’re comin’ out!” Rick hollered. Madison’s eyes flew open when she heard his decision and her stomach wound itself into knots when she saw Daryl shake his head from the corner of her eye and whisper a hoarse no. “We’re comin’ out,” Rick repeated rising to his feet with his hands held high.

Daryl and Madison’s eyes locked for a second, neither sure if exposing themselves was the right plan, but following Rick’s lead nonetheless. Madison quickly threw the strap to the semi-automatic rifle she was holding over her shoulder and raised her hands. Daryl groaned in response to their predicament and swung his own gun over the trunk of the car and approached the fence, gun ready to shoot and slightly ahead of Madison to keep her out of the direct line of fire.

“Stop pointing that thing at them,” she begged, her eyes darting between the gun Daryl was holding and the seemingly vacated guard post, “Don’t give them a reason to fire again.” He shot a scathing glare over his shoulder at her, but did as she asked and pointed his gun in the air and held up his other hand with a frustrated grunt; he’d never felt so helpless with a weapon in his hand in his life.

The gate opened and two figures stood in front of them, one a tall, barrel chested man and the other a petite, trim woman. They had the same dark brown complexion, the same expressive eyes, the same jet black hair, and the same mannerisms; there was no question that these two were brother and sister. An uneasy, guarded expression covered their faces when their eyes landed on Rick. Madison had never laid eyes on these two before, but they seemed to recognize Rick. “What’re you doin’ here?” Tyreese asked.

The group outside the town walls slowly lowered their hands and Rick met Tyreese’s skeptical stare, “We were comin’ to finish this.”

“You don’t have to be that honest,” Madison whispered under her breath. Her eyes never rested as she scoured what she could see of the town from where she stood, still unconvinced that they were out of the woods.

“Until we saw what the Governor did,” Rick finished, oblivious to Madison’s comment.

“He-he killed them?” Tyreese asked, finally accepting the truth and relaxing is defensive stance which eased Madison’s concerns greatly. His sister stood next to him, silent, looking at the faces of the people standing before her. Her furrowed brow made it clear that she was having many of the same misgivings as Madison; they were enemies who were attacking each other hours earlier now being forced to cooperate because a larger threat presented itself.

Rick took a breath before answering Tyreese. “Yeah,” he mumbled, nodding and looking at the ground. He raised his eyes again and continued, “Karen told us Andrea hopped the wall goin’ for the prison. She never made it. She might be here.”

Tyreese’s sister pursed her lips and shook her head. Daryl inched closer to Madison and moved his finger a fraction of an inch towards the trigger. Clearly this girl wasn’t buying their story and he didn’t know what she’d do. “Where?” she asked with a short, humorless laugh and finally breaking her silence.

“Sasha,” Tyreese said, trying to stop her.

“This place isn’t that big. We would’ve seen her,” she added, suspiciously eyeing each person in turn.

“It’s big enough,” Madison argued calmly, “He can hide things he doesn’t, or didn’t, want you to see.” She could feel Daryl’s eyes on her and she gave him a brief, sidelong glance; being back at Woodbury wasn’t bringing back pleasant memories for either of them, but the fact that she was held captive here gave their group a rare insight into what went on behind the scenes of this place. “If Andrea’s here, we know right where she’ll be. We can take you.”

Stunned by what he was hearing Tyreese nodded slowly and stepped aside to let them through the gate. Sasha stared at him in disbelief before reluctantly stepping back herself. Madison watched Tyreese place his hand on the small of Karen’s back and ask again if she was really okay as she passed him. Under any other circumstances Madison would’ve found this interaction touching, but all she cared about tonight was finding Andrea and getting as far away from Woodbury as fast as possible. One everyone was inside Sasha closed the gate and returned to her post; she wasn’t sure if she believed the Governor killed his own people, but if he did and he tried to come back someone had to be there to keep him out. “This way,” Michonne said, moving to the front and leading them through the abandoned streets.

Minutes later the group was quietly making its way through the dimly lit, dirty maze of hallways and rooms that were all too familiar to Madison. The dusty, moldy smell of the hall assaulted her nose; it was the same smell that was in the room where Merle had her taped to a chair and beat her. She’d remember the smell until the day she died. It made her sick.

“I never knew these were here,” Tyreese said quietly, almost to himself, as he looked around. He kicked a few bullet casing with the toe of his boot as he walked, evidence of the violence that had taken place, “How do you know about this?”

It took a moment for Madison to force her voice to cooperate before she could answer him, “I’ve, well...we’ve all been here before.” She looked around a corner and froze, letting out a shuddering gasp as she stared into the corridor where she was forced to her knees with a bag over her head and escaped execution by a matter of minutes.

“Yer okay, Maddie,” Daryl whispered, tucking her hair behind her ear and urging her forward. She smiled faintly at him and started walking again, embarrassed that she let memories of that night get the better of her when there were far more important things for her to be worried about.

“After they were captured, this is where he had her,” Rick explained to Tyreese, nodding in Madison’s direction, “And Glenn and Maggie.”

Tyreese looked at Madison, slack jawed, and asked, “The Governor held people here?”

Madison tried her best to ignore the shock and pity on Tyreese’s face and stared straight ahead. “‘E did more than hold ‘em,” Daryl answered for her to spare her from having to speak and try to keep her voice steady.

A tense silence took over the group as they rounded a corner. At the end of the hall there was a locked metal door and they cautiously approached it. As they got closer they could hear some muffled noises coming from the other side, but no one gave the noises much thought. All of their attention was focused on the large pool of blood seeping from underneath the door. Michonne released a heavy sigh and drew her sword as she tried to psych herself up to face whatever was on the other side of the door. Her nerve failed her and she looked at Rick and asked in a barely audible whisper, “Will you open it?”

Rick nodded then took a deep breath as he raised his revolver and put his other hand on the lock to slide it over and open the door. Without hesitation Daryl brought his gun to his eye and stepped forward to cover Rick in case there was an unexpected threat waiting for them. From the corner of his eye he saw Madison aim her gun at the door too, stone faced, and he muttered to her, “Stay back ‘till we clear it.” She wasn’t in the mood to argue and nodded to let him know she heard. Rick started counting and threw the door open before he got to three.

A blood soaked dead body lay in the middle of the floor in front of a lone dentist’s chair. Madison stood on her toes to try and see over the shoulders of the men standing in front of her. She didn’t see anything else in the room and thought they’d gotten themselves worked up over nothing until Michonne exclaimed, “Andrea!” Madison’s heart stopped as she pushed past Daryl and Rick and followed Michonne into the room. Andrea was leaning against the wall next to the door, pale and weak, looking like every breath she took was a battle. She was covered in blood and the nauseating realization hit Madison as she knelt by Andrea’s side that she was where the pool of blood was coming from. Michonne was on Andrea’s other side, holding her friend and she tried to make her eyes focus on the faces surrounding her. Madison took hold of Andrea’s hand and squeezed it. She stared at the broken half of a pair of handcuffs still clasped around Andrea’s wrist before forcing herself to look at Andrea’s tired, defeated face, only vaguely aware of Rick crouching down next to her in front of the injured blonde.

“I tried to stop them,” Andrea said feebly to no one in particular.

“You’re burning up,” Michonne muttered, placing her hand briefly against Andrea’s forehead.

Andrea moaned as she raised her free hand and pulled back the collar of her shirt, exposing a fresh, gaping walker bit just above her collarbone. Rick groaned when he saw the bite then looked away and pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. Madison gasped and bit her lip to hold back the tears stinging her eyes, hating herself for how cold she was to Andrea the last time they saw each other. “Andrea, I…” Madison began without knowing how she was going to finish her sentence and squeezing the dying woman’s hand tighter.

“I know, Madison. It’s all right,” Andrea told Madison, reading the guilt etched across the redhead’s face. She turned from Madison with some difficulty and faced Rick, struggling to speak as she grew weaker, “Judith, Carl, the rest of them…”

“Us,” he corrected her, putting a comforting hand on her arm, “The rest of us.”

“Are they alive?”

Rick’s eyes darted over Madison’s shoulder and she followed his gaze, becoming aware for the first time that Daryl was standing behind her. He shifted his weight and his eyes fell to the floor; the group had only suffered one casualty and Rick was asking if Andrea should know what the Governor did to Merle. “Yeah,” Rick answered with a slight nod, deciding not to burden Andrea further and leaning forwards slightly, “They’re alive.”

A frail, but genuine, smile covered Andrea’s face at the news as she turned to Michonne and touched her arm, “It’s good you found them.” Michonne’s lip quivered and she nodded in agreement, unable to speak through her tears running down her face. Andrea looked from person to person, grateful to be with friends at the end of her life, rather than dying alone on the floor in a locked room. “No one can make it alone now,” she added, her eyes landing on Daryl.

He studied the redhead kneeling at Andrea’s side and wondered how he would’ve made it through the past year or who he would be if she hadn’t come into his life then rested his hand on her shoulder. Madison released a shaky breath and raised her shoulder, pressing the back of his hand against her cheek, her gaze never leaving Andrea. “Never could,” Daryl said quietly, struggling to hold himself together and meeting Andrea’s eyes.

The smile faded from her lips and Andrea focused on Rick once again. “I just didn’t want anyone to die,” she said feebly, feeling the need to explain herself one last time.

“You did everything you could,” Madison whispered, hoping to console Andrea in her final moments.

Andrea took a deep breath and nodded, acknowledging Madison’s comment, before taking her hand back and pushing herself up straighter. “I can do it myself,” she insisted, her face grave as she mentally prepared herself for the next step.

“No,” Michonne argued, objecting to more to the idea of Andrea dying rather than her taking charge and ending her life on her own terms.

“I have to,” she sighed, the devastation on Michonne's face tearing her apart, “While I still can.” She turned to Rick again, “Please?” He didn’t respond right away, only stared at her while he tried to accept what was about to happen. An exhausted half-smile pulled at the corner of Andrea’s mouth as she recited one of the first sentences she’d ever spoken to Rick, “I know how the safety works.” Rick sighed and pulled his revolver from its holster, shaking his head as he placed the gun in her hands. 

Michonne inhaled sharply and Andrea turned to her, silently telling her that it was okay to leave. Determination spread across her tearstained face, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Andrea shut her eyes, thankful to not be facing the end alone, then opened them and looked at her friends one last time, “I tried.”

“Yeah,” Rick said, hanging his head,  “Yeah you did.” His eyes locked with hers as he rested his hand on her leg, “You did.” He looked at the ground as he stood and stepped out of the room, feeling like he’d be imposing if he stayed any longer.

“C’mon,” Daryl whispered to Madison, nudging her to get her to follow Rick. 

She met his concerned eyes and turned back to Andrea. She wanted to stay, it was written all over her face, but Daryl wanted to spare her from what was about to happen; Madison didn’t need to see another one of her friends die up close. He gently nudged her again and she conceded with a nod and a sigh. Before she stood she took hold of Andrea’s forearm and looked her in the eye, “Thank you...for not turning your back on us.” A tear spilled out from the corner of Madison’s eye, “Amy is going to be so happy to see you.” Andrea patted Madison’s hand as her own eyes filled with tears. 

Madison pushed herself up and followed Daryl from the room and kept walking, wanting to put as much distance between herself and the end of Andrea’s life as possible. “Don’t wander off,” Daryl said softly, coming up behind her and catching her by the arm. Madison gestured to the door with her free hand then pressed the back of her hand against her mouth in a futile attempt to keep herself from crying as she tried to explain without words that she didn’t want to be there anymore. “I know,” he murmured, smoothing her hair and kissing her forehead, “but we gotta be ‘ere fer Michonne when she comes out.” Madison pressed her lips together and nodded as she sat down on the ground and drew her knees to her chest. Daryl groaned as he knelt down and wrapped his arm around her.

A heavy, oppressive silence permeated the hall and was shattered by a single gunshot. Madison squeezed her eyes closed and hung her head while Daryl caressed her back. The door creaked open seconds after the gunshot and Michonne stepped out then handed Rick his gun, staring ahead without seeing what was in front of her. Madison jumped to her feet and, before she could stop herself, gave Michonne a tight hug. Michonne froze for a moment, taken aback, but then her chin started to quiver and she held on to Madison as more tears fell for Andrea.

The group made their way through the hallways and out into the fresh night air. Rick stopped walking when they reached the street and turned to Tyreese, “Is it just you, Sasha, and Karen here now or are there others?”

“There’re others. The ones the Governor didn’t see fit to join the fight. Kids, the elderly.”

Rick caught Daryl’s eye and Daryl looked at Tyreese and scanned the street and buildings then nodded to the former sheriff. “We’ve got room at the prison, for everyone,” Rick said, his voice tight as he continued, “No one can make it alone now.”

Hours later the caravan, now with a beat up school bus filled with survivors from Woodbury bringing up the rear, pulled up to the gates of the prison. Madison tore her eyes away from the motorcycle and pickup truck in front of her and looked in the rearview mirror at the apprehensive faces of the passengers on the bus she was driving and sighed, hoping that the two groups would be able to blend together and let go of any lingering resentments for each other. She put the bus in park and turned off the ignition, catching a glimpse of Maggie’s confused expression as she walked by the bus. Sasha, Karen, and Tyreese got off first to guide the newcomers towards the prison while Madison stayed by the top step and helped those that needed it get down the stairs safely. When the last passenger was off the bus Madison gathered her weapons and hopped out, following the trail of people into the cellblock. She came to a stop halfway between the bus and the prison door and looked out over the yard and beyond the fences. There were still walkers roaming around the once cleared yard, the outer gate was destroyed, and from what she could see at least two of their watchtowers had been blown up, possibly leaving them irreparable. A faint smile tugged at her lips; even in the midst of all the destruction and chaos, there was something tranquil and beautiful about the way the sun was enveloping their home. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something different in the air this morning. A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly brushed it away. Hope. That’s what was different. For the first time since Merle, since the Governor and Woodbury, since Lori, she had hope that everything would be all right.

Calloused fingers intertwined with hers and she glanced up at a weary pair of pale blue eyes watching her closely and drinking her in, admiring her as if she was a rare piece of art, like she was all that mattered in the world. “It’ll be ‘lright, Maddie,” Daryl said, his voice as soft and tender as his expression, “We fixed this place once, we can do it again. It’s gonna be okay.”

“It is okay,” she corrected him, reaching up on her toes and kissing him gently. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder with a contented smile on her face as she looked out across the prison yard again, “It already is okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently posted a "bonus scene" that falls near the middle of chapter 15 titled 'Incredible and Overwhelming'. If you're interested in a little more in-depth look at the beginning of Daryl and Maddie's relationship by all means check it out. *End of shameless self-promotion*


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet you all thought I'd fallen off the face of the earth! Not quite, just been buried in overtime at work. So here's the next chapter. I came up with this idea towards the beginning of writing this thing and I've been looking forward to reaching this part of the story ever since, but now that it's here I'm incredibly nervous about it so please be kind! Thanks for sticking with me and continuing to read my story. As usual, I don't own any part of the TWD (I wish!), I only own Madison.

An empty cell was waiting for Madison when she made her way inside after pulling an all night shift on watch, mocking her for daring to hope that Daryl had come home during the night. He left with Michonne to track down the Governor and put an end to his reign of terror ten days ago, eleven now that the sun was starting to rise. She ran her hand through her hair and leaned heavily against the bars; she was exhausted, but she couldn’t make herself take the three steps from the cell door to the bed. If she let her mind idle she’d start to worry and if she started to worry she wouldn’t be able to stop. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, tracing the studded roses on her bracelet, “He said they’d be back in about a week. Not exactly a week, about a week. Keep it together, Wyatt.”

She pushed herself away from the door and ran downstairs in search of something to do to keep herself busy. She waved to a group of new faces as she cut through the common area and bounded up the stairs then outside. The group within the prison was barely recognizable. In the month since they took in the group from Woodbury others had been trickling in, some had stumbled across the prison on their own, but most had been found and brought in by group members on runs. The new blood brought a different energy to the prison, one that was more to Madison’s liking. She understood that they still had to be cautious when it came to letting newcomers through the gates, but she definitely preferred greeting them with a smile than a semi-automatic.

“All I’m saying is with more mouths to feed we need to go on runs more often.”

“I’ll go,” Madison blurted, interrupting Glenn and putting herself in the middle of his conversation with Hershel. “I didn't mean to eavesdrop,” she continued with a chuckle and a shrug, “but, well, it happened. I'm not doing anything, I can go on a run today. You're right. We need to go on more runs, but we can't always be the ones going. We have to start showing the new people the ropes. I'll take that new girl Sasha brought in last week…what was her name?” She paused, snapping her fingers as her worn out brain worked overtime, “Chloe! I'll take Chloe with me, help her get settled into a routine. She's here alone, maybe this will help her feel like she’s a part of this place.”

Glenn and Hershel stared at Madison for a moment, stunned into silence by her rambling thought process. “Weren’t you on watch all night?” Hershel asked, studying the dark circles under the redhead’s eyes.

“Well, yeah, but I don't see what that has to do with anything. I'm good to go. I've done more on less sleep before.”

“I think it's great you want to help Chloe out,” Glenn began cautiously, sharing a concerned look with Hershel, “but one more day won't make a difference. Get some rest first. You haven't really slept since-”

“Maggie and her big mouth,” Madison grumbled, folding her arms. She’d told Maggie the longer Daryl was away the harder it was for her to sleep, she should've known anything she told her best friend would eventually make its way to Glenn. “I know you two are just trying to look out for me and I'm grateful, but stop it. I'm fine, I promise.” Hershel opened his mouth and before he could get a word out Madison rushed on, “It's just going to be a quick run, in and out and home before dark. You won't even know we're gone.”

Seeing the desperation in her eyes, Hershel sighed, “I don't like it, but be smart out there. If anythin’ happens to you and Daryl finds out we're the ones that let you go out like this…” A feeble smile brightened the old man's face as he shook his head, doing little to conceal the fatherly concern in his eyes.

“You know I wouldn't risk my life or Chloe’s if I didn't know I could handle this. I just can't stay here twiddling my thumbs anymore.” Madison turned around quickly and walked away before either Hershel or Glenn could give her another well-meaning guilt trip.

Collecting Chloe was painless in comparison to her conversion with the two men and before long Madison and Chloe were in the Hyundai, flying down the abandoned road towards a small town not far from the prison. The silence in the car was deafening and Madison cast a sidelong glance at the young girl in the seat next to her. Chloe seemed like a sweet enough girl, but all anyone knew about her was she was alone in the woods when Sasha found her. She was a year, maybe two, younger than Beth, but that was where the similarities stopped. While Beth was bubbly and outgoing Chloe was skittish and withdrawn. And quiet. Madison had never heard her utter a sentence that was more than three words long and she was determined to put an end to that on their run. “I know you were out here alone for a while, the community at the prison must be a huge adjustment for you.” Chloe looked down and picked at the split ends of her jet black hair, giving Madison a barely noticeable shrug as a response. “It's only been a few days, but are you liking it?”

“It's okay,” Chloe mumbled, becoming increasingly focused on her hair.

Encouraged that she managed to get Chloe to respond, Madison pushed on, “Have you met Beth yet?” The teenager shook her head and Madison went on, “She's about your age, maybe a little older than you, but I know she'd love getting to know someone her own age. Being surrounded by people older than she is can’t be fun for her.” Chloe dropped her hair and folded her arms, still refusing to engage in the conversation. “I'll introduce you when we get back, if you want,” Madison offered, glancing at her silent passenger, “I’m biased of course because she’s like a sister to me, but she’s a sweetheart.” Silence overtook the car once again and Madison strummed the steering wheel as she tried to think of a new topic, “What do you do for fun, well, what did you do? Drama club? Cheerleading? Marching band?” Once again Chloe shook her head then turned then looked out the window, blocking Madison out as much as possible. Madison ran her finger through her hair, at a loss of what to say or do next. Chloe wasn’t that much older than the kids in Madison’s classes; she could connect with them, why couldn’t she get Chloe to open up, even slightly? “Pets,” she blurted, “Everyone has a favorite pet. Growing up I had this little dog, a terrier, and one day I hear him just whimpering and whining like crazy so I go outside to check on him and this robin is dive-bombing him and chasing him up and down the length of our back yard. I’ve never seen an animal run so fast.” Madison glanced at Chloe who wasn’t even cracking a smile and sighed, “Guess you had to be there.”

Officially out of conversation starters Madison fell silent and accepted defeat. Today was not the day to ease Chloe out of her shell after all. The miserable car ride mercifully came to an end and Madison parked the car in front of an abandoned jewelry store, preparing her weapons and looking up and down the street before getting out. Chloe sat up as she read the faded sign in the window and threw a skeptical glance at Madison, “Why here?”

Madison forced herself to conceal her self-satisfied smirk when Chloe spoke. “One of the perks of having a former sheriff in your group is you know some places guns might be stashed that most others wouldn’t even think about.” She met Chloe’s puzzled stare and went on, “It’s possible that a gun or two might be stashed behind the counter in places like this in case there was ever a robbery.” She hopped out of the car and Chloe followed, “Plus it’s an easy in and out job for your first run.”

“I’ve scavenged for supplies before.”

“Oh, okay,” Madison muttered. She hadn’t considered that offering to show Chloe the ropes could come across as condescending, but the younger girl’s biting tone said it all. “Want to take lead then? We have our own way of doing things, but I’m willing to try something different.” Chloe shook her head and looked at her shoes as she kicked a rock, reverting back to silence. Madison sighed, peering through the dusty storefront window, “All right. Let’s clear the sales floor first then we can split up and check for anything useful. Stay tight.”

The lock on the door was already broken and Madison mentally crossed her fingers that her hunch about the hidden guns was right. She paused in the doorway while she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dimly lit store. Once she could see she beckoned for Chloe to follow her and stepped forward, tripping over a topped step ladder. She clicked on her flashlight and swept the room, deciding not to take any more chances on her poorly adjusted eyesight. She moved towards the counter, stopping when she saw the shadow of something hanging from the ceiling cast against the wall. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she grumbled, turning towards the center of the room.

“What?”

Madison shook her head in disgust as she stared up at the walker hanging from a noose, the quiet, gasping noises it made as it reached for her almost pathetic. “This moron killed himself. I mean, if you can’t take everything that’s happened, I guess I get it, but at least take yourself out in a way that doesn’t put others in danger.” She glanced over her shoulder as she spoke and saw Chloe’s baffled expression then put her hand to her head in the shape of gun and pulled her fingers back like a trigger before glaring at the hanging body snapping its jaws and grasping at the air. “Come on, let’s look around. We’ll shoot it before we leave; no point doing it now when we’d just...bring more...to…” Madison’s sentence faltered as the light from her flashlight bounced off something silver on the walker’s right leg. She squinted and took a small step closer, examining the part of the leg exposed by the walker’s ragged pants. She gingerly lifted the hem, exposing the prosthetic leg underneath. Madison’s eyes went wide and she put her flashlight between her teeth then pulled out her knife and began cutting up the side of the pant leg. Thoughts of presenting this leg to Hershel and what it would mean to get him walking again, no longer dependent on crutches to get from point A to point B, flooded her mind and she attacked the pants; she had to see how high this fake leg went before she got her hopes up too high. The walker started swaying, a combination of its continued efforts to grab the food just beyond its decaying fingers and Madison trying to pry the prosthetic off the rotting stump. Madison’s attention was solely fixated on her goal and Chloe’s soft voice repeating her name didn’t register to the redhead until it was too late.

Everything happened so fast Madison didn’t have time to think. Before she knew what was happening the old, fraying rope holding the walker in place gave way and a heavy, rotten body landed on top of her, knocking her off balance and sending her crashing into a nearby glass jewelry display. She cried out, whether from fear, surprise, pain, or a mixture of all three she didn’t know, as she squirmed in a sea of broken glass, desperately trying to keep the monster on top of her from taking a bite out of her. Her frantic eyes darted around her in search of her knife, but it was out of her reach. Wounded and defenseless she screamed to Chloe for help, but the young girl stayed put, frozen where she stood, tears streaming down her face and watching in horror as Madison fought for her life.

Realizing that help wasn’t coming, Madison tightened her grip on the walker’s shoulders and rocked back and forth, slowly at first, as she built up the momentum to throw the walker off of her. With the tables finally turned in her favor she straddled the monster and repeatedly bashed its head into the tile floor. The movement beneath her stopped, but she broke off a piece of the metal framework of the mangled jewelry display and drove it through the walker’s eye socket for good measure. She knelt, panting, above the motionless body for a moment then fell sideways and leaned heavily against an intact display.  Something warm and sticky ran down her arm and she groaned as she inspected her arm, pulling out several shards of glass. These were far from the worst injuries she’d received on a run; she didn’t feel it at moment, but she was lucky. She twisted her waist to push herself up and fell back against the display, wincing as she glanced down to her blood-soaked shirt and gingerly lifted it; multiple large gashes covered the left side of her abdomen, evidently her side had taken the brunt of her fall. “This run is going to be quicker than originally planned, I need to get back,” she said bitterly as she ripped off her sleeve and held it to her side, pushing through the pain as she stood. She stared down at the lifeless body next to her and bent over with a groan, fumbling one handed with its belt. Once she got it free she wrapped the belt around herself to hold her make-shift bandage in place and give her use of her left hand again. She picked up her knife and the prosthetic leg, slamming it on the counter before striding purposefully to the back room.

“You’re hurt,” Chloe whimpered, “Sh-shouldn’t we just go?”

Madison spun around and glared at her, no longer bothering to conceal her anger, no matter how thinly, “No. We’re not wasting the gas to come out here again another day. We’re here now, I’m checking the back. I’ll get behind the counter before we leave.”

“Let me help. I can-”

“No! You can’t!” Madison snapped, mad at Chloe for standing still while she begged for help and mad at herself for suggesting Chloe come in the first place; she didn’t know this girl and she clearly didn’t have her back. She was back to trusting strangers and it almost cost her her life. She wouldn’t make that mistake again, “Just stand still and don’t do anything. You’re good at that.” Madison inwardly cringed at her words, but ignored Chloe’s crestfallen expression and turned on her heal, disappearing into the back of the store still fuming.

Several successful minutes later Madison pushed open the door and adjusted the backpack full of newly discovered supplies slipping off her right shoulder. She rolled her eyes; Chloe was standing exactly where she had left her, but now she’d turned around to stare out the windows towards the street, anxiously twirling her hair around her fingers. Madison silently stalked to the counter and announced her return by dropping her backpack next to the leg with a thump; she wasn’t proud of the satisfaction she got watching the younger girl jump and spin around, but in her mind it evened the score, if only slightly. Without a word she bent down and rummaged behind the counter in search of anything useful, but hoping for a gun, maybe even two. Eventually she stood with a huff and shook her hair out of her eyes, grumbling, “Nothing.” She glanced at the leg and backpack, at least the trip hadn’t been a total waste. “Grab the leg and let’s get out of here,” she said flatly, wincing as she hoisted the heavy backpack over her shoulder. Chloe didn't move an inch. Her eyes darted to the blood and rotten flesh covered prosthetic and a green tint painted her face. She locked eyes with Madison, half confused, half disgusted, as she silently prayed the redhead wasn't serious. That moment of hesitation was the last straw and Madison snatched the leg off the counter and marched out the door, using every ounce of her limited self-restraint to keep from ripping into the teenager trailing behind her.

The awkward silence of the ride to the jewelry store was nothing compared to the nearly tangible tension of the drive back to the prison. “I-I’m sorry,” Chloe muttered near the halfway point when the bitterness radiating from the driver’s seat became too much for her, “For what happened back there. I really am.” Madison released a dismissive snort. A half-hearted apology? It was too little too late. Chloe hung her head and nervously picked at her split ends again. “I froze. It’s not the first time...I thought I was past it. I’m just,” she sighed and dropped her hands to her lap, “I’m just no good with those things.”

Madison cast a sidelong look at Chloe as she wiped her eyes, the slight quiver to her voice finally sinking in and assuaging Madison’s anger; the girl next to her was being sincere. Madison closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. It was so easy to forget that kids were still kids when the world was such a mess. It pained her to admit it, but she had been too hard on Chloe. Her expression softened as she asked, “How have you survived this long if you’re as bad with walkers as you say you are?” She didn’t think it was possible, but Chloe’s shoulder’s slumped even more and Madison tripped over her words once she realized how harsh her question must’ve sounded, “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant...how?”

“You asked me earlier what I did for fun before all this? I was on the school’s track team. That’s how I’ve made it this long.” Chloe risked a quick glance at Madison and added, “I’m fast.”

“Wait, what?” Madison spluttered, whipping her head around to look at Chloe, “How many walkers have you killed? You must’ve killed at least one or two, right?” Chloe’s eyes fell and she shook her head. Madison forced her mouth closed and turned her eyes back to the road, “So you’re saying you’ve made it this far without killing any?” Chloe nodded and Madison sat still for a moment, stunned into silence until she finally found her voice again, “Either you’re very lucky or you’re just very good at staying a step ahead of the situation.”

Chloe shrugged, “My uncle could see that I couldn’t handle them. He was the one who told me if I couldn’t fight to run. He stayed back and fought with the rest while I ran like he told me to. I never found out what happened to him and the others. I just...left. I’ve been running ever since. Until today. Standing there, watching...that...it was one of the hardest things I've ever done.”

“Thank you for staying,” Madison whispered, choking back the lump forming in her throat as she saw the girl in the passenger seat in a new light, “You have a home now; you don't have to run anymore. Chloe, I wouldn’t have had you come today if I’d known… You’re not ready for runs yet. If I would’ve asked you wouldn’t have been put in that situation back there. I’m sorry.” Chloe sat up a little straighter and Madison continued, “I can teach you how to protect yourself and how to fight. You need to learn because one day being fast won’t be enough.”

A timid smile covered Chloe’s face, “Thanks. I’d like that.”

They spent the rest of the drive deciding on a plan and scheduling how often they would meet so Madison could teach Chloe to fight. As soon as Madison put the car in park Chloe hopped out and carried the backpack inside. Madison was slower climbing out, every muscle and joint ached from the impact of her fall. “At least nothing’s broken this time,” she grunted to herself as she hobbled inside and upstairs to her cell, clutching the leg. She braced herself for the empty cell waiting to greet her once again and glanced through the bars before coming to an abrupt stop, nearly dropping the leg. “You’re back!” she breathed, tears prickling her eyes as she rushed forward to hug the man standing in the cell and throwing his gear and crossbow onto the top bunk.

Daryl turned around when he heard Madison’s whisper, his mouth turned up in a large smile, “Got some big news fer ya.” Confusion and concern took over his face as his smile faded away when Madison rushed towards him. His original train of thought was little more than a distant memory and he narrowed his eyes as he took stock of her, disheveled, bloody, and, perhaps most disturbing of all, carrying a severed leg. “Buster, what the hell?”

“What?” The confusion on Madison’s face rivaled Daryl’s and she glanced down at herself to see what he was staring at then comprehension dawned. “Oh, yeah,” she muttered, meeting his unwavering gaze, “I went on a run with the new girl to show her the ropes. It didn’t go so well; a walker hanging from a noose fell on me and knocked me down.”

Daryl nodded slowly and pulled on his beard then gestured to her right hand. “Why ya holdin’ ont’a leg?”

Her face brightened and she held the leg up with a triumphant smile, “For Hershel. I got it off that idiot hanging from the ceiling.” Daryl grunted and took the prosthetic from her, examining it closely while she talked. “We can get him walking on his own again, no more crutches,” she said in a low, meaningful whisper, “Just think how wonderful that will be.”

“Ya done good.” Madison beamed and Daryl discarded the leg then pulled her closer to give her a proper greeting, abruptly releasing her when she winced as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Concern filled his eyes again as he loosened the belt she’d strapped around herself and the blood-soaked sleeve fell from her side. He lifted the side of her shirt slowly, afraid of what he’d find. He inhaled sharply through his teeth when he saw her injuries, although he was relieved to see gashes and cuts rather than bite-marks, “Damn. Whaddidya do, Maddie? Fall int’a wood chipper?”

“Close,” she laughed quietly, “A glass display at the jewelry store.” Daryl’s head snapped up and he stared at her like she’d just told him the sky was orange and she’d decided to adopt a walker as a pet; what was it with women and jewelry? She rolled her eyes at him, “Don’t give me that look. It’s not like we were going on a shopping spree, we were looking for guns stashed behind the counter. I overheard Rick once saying it would be worth checking out.”

Satisfied by her explanation Daryl gave her a brisk nod, “‘Lright, fair ‘nough.” He gestured to the bunk behind him, “Sit. I’ll be back.”

Madison did as she was told, utterly bewildered, then picked the fake leg off the floor and tried to get as much of the walker’s drying blood of it as she could. Daryl silently entered the cell and took the leg from her, “That can wait.”

He sat next to her and set down a bowl of water, a clean rag, and some bandages before lifting her shirt up. Madison took the hem from him and held it in place, watching him tenderly clean and dress her cuts. “You don’t have to do that,” she whispered. Daryl’s blue eyes flickered to her face and back as he grunted with a shrug. A small smile covered Madison’s lips as the irony of the situation struck her. “You know what this reminds me of? Back on the farm when you threw that saddle and popped your stitches, only the roles are reversed.”

A faint smile appeared and disappeared from his face as he examined her, he hadn’t made the connection, but now that she’d pointed it out it couldn’t be ignored. “Might needa have Hershel take a look at ya when ya give ‘im that ol’ thing,” he mumbled, gesturing vaguely to the leg on the floor, “Can’t tell if these ‘ere need stitches’r not.” Madison chewed on her lip and nodded, her free hand absentmindedly tracing the scar on her forehead, the thought of getting stitches again did not appeal to her. “What the hell were ya thinkin’ takin’ the new girl on a test drive by yerself?”

Madison shook her head at herself, “I guess I wasn’t. She’s about Beth’s age so I just assumed she could handle it.”

“She’s jus’ a kid.”

“It’s easy to forget not all kids are mini soldiers like Carl,” she sighed, watching Daryl swap out the rag and water for bandages. “Get this; she’s never killed a walker. Not a single one.”

His hands stopping in midair as he stared at her waiting for her to laugh and say it was a joke, “Y’ain’t serious?”

“I wish I wasn’t, but it’s true. I just don’t see how it’s possible. I’d lost count long before Ally died and that was only, what? Two months after things fell apart? If I’d known I never would’ve taken her. What if something had happened to her? I’d have to live with that.” Daryl shook his head in disbelief and turned back to Madison’s injuries. He stared at the cuts on her side and noticed for the first time the scratches on her arm. It was too typical of the woman beside him to downplay her own injuries and worry about others; it was endearing and frustrating at the same time. “We really need some sort of screening process when we bring people in, like questions they have to answer so we know what we’re getting ourselves into and things like this don’t happen.”

“Ya jus’ gotta start bein’ more careful out there, that’s all I haveta say.”

Madison shot him a withering look, “And who says I wasn’t being careful?”

“These guys,” he answered simply, pointing to her gashes and cuts.

He had a point, although she wasn’t about to admit it. She let herself get so caught up in helping Hershel walk again that she didn’t pay attention to what was going on around her and she was paying the price. “It was all part of my master plan,” she said, trying to laugh off the situation, “Some couples get matching tattoos, I thought it would be nice if we had matching scars.” Daryl rolled his eyes with a huff, clearly not amused. Madison lowered her gaze and watched his hands then asked quietly, changing the subject, “Any sign of him?”

“Picked up a trail that looked good at first, but it went cold. Michonne an’ I put our heads t’gether an’ came up with some leads. We’ll go lookin’ fer that prick again in a couplea days. ‘Kay, yer done.”

“Thanks,” she muttered lowering her shirt. Daryl grunted in acknowledgement as he wiped his hands clean on the damp rag. “Maybe I can come with you two,” she added hopefully.

His tired eyes came alive with a glimmer and he gave her a smirk, “Dunno, maybe. It’s rough out there. Walkers actually come at us, they ain’t jus’ strung up like piñatas. Ain't so sure ya can handle it.”

“You’re such a jerk! And to think I was actually getting worried about you,” she laughed, giving him a playful shove. “Oh! What’s your big news?” she asked abruptly coaxing a throaty chuckle from Daryl.

He nervously picked at a hole in his pants, but sat up a little taller, “Y’heard ‘em talkin’ ‘bout gettin’ a group of people t’run this place?”

“A little, yeah.” Daryl stared into Madison’s eyes, watching for her reaction, the proud smile on his face contradicted by the apprehension in his eyes. Madison took his hand in hers, stopping him from playing with fraying edge of the hole, “Daryl, what is it?”

“Hershel an’ them talked t’me when I firs’ got back. They-they wan’ me t’be part of it. Dunno why.”

“Yes you do; look at how far this group has come. That’s a lot to do with you. They’d be stupid not to see that.” Madison threw her arms around him, too happy to notice the pain in her side from her sudden movement. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered, kissing him then resting her forehead against his, “You’ll do great. Stop selling yourself short and stop worrying, okay?”

Weeks later Madison pushed open the door to the common room and held it for Chloe. She rolled her head from side to side and waved to the teenager disappearing down the hall; progress was slow, but Chloe’s lessons were starting to churn out results. As exciting as that was, what excited Madison even more was that Chloe was opening up, if only slightly, and warming towards her and the rest of the community. She made her way down the stairs slowly, chewing her lip. Today’s lesson hadn’t been their best, but it wasn’t Chloe’s fault. Madison sighed; she had too much on her mind and couldn’t focus on her student. At least Chloe was blissfully unaware of Madison’s lack of focus, she was too thrilled with finally hitting the target to notice anything else. Madison’s eyes fell to the bracelet on her left wrist and she smiled to herself; she remembered that feeling with astounding clarity, but that was a lifetime ago. So much had changed since those relatively carefree days on Hershel’s farm.

“C’mon, sweetheart. Y’eat fer Beth, why won’t y’eat fer me?”

Madison’s eyebrows knit together in confusion as she followed Daryl’s voice through the common room and into the cellblock. She came to a stop when she saw him sitting at the bottom of the stairs leading to the upper level of cells, struggling to get Rick’s squirming daughter to take the bottle in his hand. The sight of Daryl taking his turn caring for Judith, an act that would seem so out of character to those who didn’t know the temperamental redneck well, never failed to take her breath away. A soft, loving smile covered her face as she allowed herself a moment to admire this man and marvel that he chose to be with her of all people.

A mildly irritated huff from behind broke the daze Madison had fallen into and she realized she was blocking the doorway. With a mumbled apology she stepped aside and walked across the cellblock. “Babysitting duty again?” she asked, joining Daryl on the steps. “If you’re not careful people will get the wrong idea and start thinking you’ve gone soft,” she teased, kissing him on the cheek with a smirk.

Daryl rolled his eyes, “Whaddya want?”

“Nothing; just staking my claim. I see the way other women in camp look at you.”

“How’re they lookin’ at me?” he asked, a look of genuine curiosity on his face.

Madison tenderly brushed his shaggy hair out of his eyes and smiled softly, “The same way I do when I see you holding her. You look good with a baby in your arms.”

“Stop,” he scoffed, shifting uncomfortably despite the small, self-satisfied grin on his lips as he turned his attention back to Judith and tried, unsuccessfully, to get her to eat, “What’s this lil’ girl’s problem?”

“Hold the bottle up a little more, like this,” Madison said, leaning over and adjusting the bottle in Daryl’s rough hand. As soon as she tilted the bottle Judith accepted the nipple and began to eat enthusiastically.

Pleased with herself Madison looked up at Daryl with a proud smile and was met by an annoyed glare. “Show off,” he mumbled.

Madison laughed quietly and rested her head against his shoulder, “I’ll never get used to seeing you hold her.” Daryl’s eyes locked with hers, puzzled, and she explained herself, “You just don’t seem like a baby kind of guy.”

“Well Asskicker ‘ere’s something special,” Daryl said, looking back to Judith and bouncing her as she fed, “Ain’t that right?”

“Is it just her or do you have a secret soft spot for all babies I should know about?” Madison inhaled sharply, surprised by how quickly her question slipped out before she could stop herself. She bit her lip and sat up, shyly meeting Daryl’s narrowed eyes.

Silence overtook the couple as they stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak. Daryl’s eyes flickered behind her. His sudden sharp whistle startled Madison and she jumped, her hand flying to her chest. “Hey! Take yer kid,” Daryl called, looking over Madison’s shoulder. She followed Daryl's gaze just as Rick stepped around the railing behind her and took his daughter from Daryl without question. Daryl looked back to Madison, staring at her steadily and licking his lips. The intensity of his stare became too much and Madison dropped her eyes and nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. “C’mon,” he mumbled, squeezing her knee and nodding upstairs towards the catwalk when she looked at him again.

Madison followed Daryl outside and watched him close the door, locking it behind them and ensuring them some privacy. “Maddie,” he exhaled, leaning heavily against the door with folded arms, “Do I wanna know where yer goin’ with this?” 

She shrugged, “I’ve just been thinking...we could do it. I mean, we’ve got a safe place to call home now, we’ve got plenty of supplies, a doctor…” She looked up at Daryl through her eyelashes and took his hands with some difficulty, forcing him to unfold his arms. She smiled at him, trying to look past his blank, slack jawed expression, “Don’t you ever think abo-”

“No.”

“No you don’t think about it or no-”

“No, we ain’t talkin’ ‘bout this!” he barked.

“I don’t see why not,” Madison whispered as her face fell, tightening her grip on his hands, “You obviously love Judith so why can’t we just-”

Daryl pried his hands free, “What the hell’s the matter with ya, huh? I jus’ told ya we ain’t having this conversation.” He looked away from Madison’s stunned face. The pain held in her eyes made her look like he’d just slapped her. He rubbed his temples; he hated himself for being the one to put that look on her face, but he had to put his foot down and stop her insane and dangerous train of thought and the sooner the better. “Ya on yer period’r some shit like that?” Before Madison could respond he spun around and pulled on the door, cursing loudly when it didn’t budge. He quickly unlocked the door and stormed inside, leaving Madison alone on the catwalk. 

Madison stared at the door as her mind tried to catch up with what had happened over the course of the past five minutes. The shape of the door began to fade as tears blurred her vision. The tears fell, unwelcomed, and she ran both hands through her hair as she wracked her brain to figure out what to do next, feeling utterly alone; this couldn’t be happening. She dropped her hands and glanced at the sun’s position in the sky then raced inside, furiously drying her eyes. Wasting time obsessing over how poorly her discussion with Daryl went wouldn’t solve anything. There was only one thing she could do now and it required going on a run, but she couldn’t go out on her own, not like this. There were still several hours before dark, if she was going to leave it had to be now. She frantically searched for Maggie, asking everyone she passed if they’d seen her. Finally she spotted Maggie exiting a guard tower and she ran towards her friend, “Maggie! There you are; I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

“I didn’t know I was missin’.” Maggie’s expression turned serious when Madison got closer and she could see her red, puffy eyes. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” she asked, gripping the redhead by the arm.

“I need to go on a run,” Madison blurted, ignoring Maggie’s questions, “I can’t, well, shouldn’t go alone. I’m not in the right frame of mind.”

“No, you’re not,” Maggie murmured, unable to hide the concern in her voice, “Slow down and tell me what’s goin’ on.”

Madison looked Maggie in the eye, pleading with her to listen, “Will you go with me? On the run? You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

“We’re goin’ on a run next week,” Maggie said, never taking her eyes away from the agitated woman in front of her, “Just tell me what you need us to grab-”

“I can’t wait that long. I need to go today. Now, if possible.”

“All right, let’s just get a group together. Maybe Glenn and Daryl aren’t doin’ much today…”

With a shake of her head Madison cut Maggie off mid-thought, “No, just you. Please don’t ask why.”

The seriousness of Madison’s plea took Maggie off guard and she nodded slowly, “Okay. Okay, I’ll get my stuff and meet you by the car.” 

The two women parted, Maggie at a jog towards the prison and Madison at a slower, pensive pace towards the cars. She rubbed her neck as she walked; was asking Maggie to go with her the right call? Was she being ridiculous insisting they leave immediately? In the grand scheme of things would a week make that much of a difference? She robotically grabbed the keys to the pickup from the two by four with nails sticking out of it tied to the cage surrounding the entrance to their cellblock. Weeks ago the group had decided it was stupid to tempt fate by leaving the keys in the cars. Sure, it was handy for a quick getaway, but it also made theft of their vehicles much easier and thus the crude keyholder Madison was staring at came into being.

“You ready?” Maggie asked, appearing beside her.

“That was fast,” Maddie muttered, pulling her attention away from the row of keys and glancing at the brunette, “Yeah, let’s get going.” 

The gravel crunched behind them as they headed towards the cars and Madison picked up the pace. She recognized the purposeful gait trailing them and she wasn’t ready to face the man it belonged to. “Hey, where y’two goin?” Daryl called, picking up speed to match Madison’s stride.

Madison stopped and closed her eyes, pressing her lips together. Maggie slowed down and Madison glanced at her then nodded her forward, “Go on, I’m right behind you.” Maggie nodded and kept walking. Madison forced a smile and faced Daryl, “Just a quick run. We’ll be back before it gets dark. Do you need me to keep my eyes open for anything while we’re out?”

“Nah, I’m good,” he said, watching Madison carefully. She was still upset, still hurting. She tried to hide it behind a fake smile and cheerful voice, but Daryl couldn’t ignore the torment in her eyes. He stepped closer and took her hands, casting a wary look around them and making sure no one was within earshot. “Look, Maddie,” he whispered, swallowing before continuing, “‘Bout earlier...I didn’t-”

“You don’t have to say anything-”

“I jus’ don't wanna see ya end up like Lori.”

It came from a place of genuine concern, but Daryl's comment settled in the pit of her stomach like a stone. “I know,” she sighed, meeting his eyes and deciding to try and plead her case one more time, “but just because that happened to her doesn’t mean…” Her sentence faltered under the weight of Daryl’s stern gaze and she dropped her eyes to the ground, begging the tears threatening to fall to stay where they were, “Sorry, it was stupid of me to...it’s stupid.” Madison took a deep breath to collect herself and glanced over her shoulder to see Maggie leaning against the pickup trying not to watch her interaction with Daryl. “I’ve got the keys,” she muttered.

“Huh?”

She turned her brown eyes back to the man in front of her, smiling sadly in spite of herself at his confusion, “Maggie’s waiting and I’ve got the keys. I’d better go. See you tonight.”

“Be safe,” Daryl whispered, squeezing her hands firmly.

Madison nodded and turned around fighting with everything she had not to bolt to the sanctuary of the truck. “I’m not blind you know,” Maggie greeted her, watching her closely, “Somethin’s off. What’s goin’ on, Madison?”

“Sorry to make you wait like that,” Madison said simply, sidestepping Maggie’s question again and getting into the driver’s seat, “I forgot I still had the keys.”

“You sure you’re okay to drive?”

“But you don’t know where we’re going.”

“I would if you’d just talk to me.” Madison turned on the ignition, carefully avoiding looking in Maggie’s direction as she shut the door. Maggie rolled her eyes and walked around to the passenger side then climbed inside, slamming the door closed with a huff, “I agreed to come ‘cause it’s you, but I am I riskin’ my life here. I think I deserve to know what the hell’s goin’ on.” 

“Don’t be so dramatic, it’s a simple run.”

“You know as well as I do that every time you set foot outside these gates you’re riskin’ your life. If that weren’t true you wouldn’t be such a nervous wreck every time Daryl leaves.”

Madison gripped the steering wheel tighter as guilt gnawed at her stomach, Maggie was right. She pulled forward, pausing briefly at the gate while she waited for it to open then glanced at Maggie and chewed her bottom lip, weighing the pros and cons of telling her adopted sister about the events leading up to her sudden urge for a run. She opened mouth to speak and closed it again when Carol waved them through the gate. Once they were on their way she tried to work up the courage to explain herself again, but lost her nerve at the last moment and sighed, “So do you think Beth and that Zack kid will get together or what? He’s always hanging around her any chance he has.” 

Maggie shook her head at Madison, but answered the question, trying to respect Madison’s desire not to talk about whatever was bothering her. When the topic of Beth’s prospective dating life ran its course the two women fell silent until Madison came to a stop in front of a familiar, boarded up general store. Maggie glowered at the building and then at the redhead behind the wheel, “You’d better have a good reason for draggin’ me back to this God-forsaken death trap.”

Memories of the last time they were here, of Merle appearing out of nowhere, opening fire on them, and knocking her out flooded Madison’s mind and she swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, “Trust me, I hate being back here as much as you do, but it’s the closest place I could think of that might still have what I’m looking for.” Without waiting for a response she inhaled sharply, drew her gun, and jumped from the truck.

Maggie followed suit and met Madison at the door. They both stared inside the store for a moment, silently telling themselves that this trip would be different. “Let’s just make this quick,” Maggie said, “You gonna tell me what we’re here for so I can help you find it?”

“Just cover me, okay?” Madison answered, shaking her head and opening the door, “It goes without saying, but I owe you one.” 

“Yeah you do,” Maggie said with a smile, resting her hand on Madison’s shoulder as she stepped into the store. “I’m gonna look around. I know you won’t, but holler if you need me.”

Madison turned on her flashlight and followed Maggie inside, making a mental note to tell her how much her coming on the run meant to her when they got back to the prison; now just wasn’t the time. She had one goal in mind and once she was sure Maggie’s attention was elsewhere she made a beeline to what was left of the pharmacy. She scoured shelf after bare shelf as she wandered up and down the rows, looking at every box and reading every label. The more time she spent looking, the higher her anxiety level rose. She ran her hand through her hair and closed her eyes; she hadn’t really considered the possibility of not being able to find what she was looking for and she desperately tried to think of another place to look and a way to convince Maggie to come along without protest. She opened her eyes and kept looking, making sure nothing was overlooked. The corner of a box sticking out from under the bottom shelf of an end cap caught her attention and she knelt down, slowly picking up the box with a trembling hand. She turned it over and read the label, letting out a shuddering breath of relief. She found it. She pressed the back of her hand holding the flashlight to her mouth and stared at the box she was holding, running her thumb over the label time and again as if doing so would help her believe this was really happening. Somehow she had managed to go her entire life without having to buy this before. The enormity of the situation crashed over her like a wave and she choked back a sob; why now?

“I found some good stuff here. Nothin’ big, but it’s better than walkin’ out empty handed,” Maggie said, walking up behind Madison, “You get what you came for?”

Madison nodded as she stood, trying to discreetly dry her eyes before facing her friend, “Yeah, I’m ready to go when you are.” She forced a smile and walked past Maggie towards the door, careful to keep the box in her hand from view. 

Fed up with being kept in the dark, Maggie followed closely behind Madison and ripped the box away from her. Madison spun around in a panic and froze as she watched Maggie examine the box. Her mouth fell open and she slowly looked up, meeting Madison’s eye, “I don’t believe this. You're…?”

Madison’s cheeks burned as she snatched the box from Maggie and held it to her chest, “Maggie, promise me you won’t say anything to Daryl. He doesn’t know.”


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! I can't believe how fast this year has gone by or how it's been since the last chapter went up. I say this all the time, but I really struggled with this chapter, I lost count of how many times I rewrote it. I finally got it where I wanted it and I hope you all enjoy it too. It's been awhile, so thank you to everyone who has given me a chance and read my story. It means so much to me.

Maggie and Madison stared at each other in stunned silence; Maggie processing the news and Madison holding her breath, waiting for the other woman's response. “You're pregnant?” Maggie finally said, her tone and expression indiscernible.

“I don’t know,” Madison answered feebly, holding up the pregnancy test in her hand, “I might be. I couldn’t handle not knowing anymore and when I tried to talk to...I just couldn’t wait. I had to know one way or the other, hence the impromptu run and the test.”

“Why doesn't Daryl know? You’ve gotta tell him.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Madison asked, nearing hysterics and gripping her hair firmly as she held it back, “I tried, okay? I tried! I tried to ease him into it, I brought up the topic as naturally and gently as I could and…” She threw her head back and sighed as she continued, “It didn’t go well. He got so freaked out by just the idea of talking about kids that he ran away. I didn’t even get a chance to tell him I might be pregnant.” Her voice cracked and she wearily massaged her temple, “Pregnant. I haven’t said it out loud yet. It sounds so weird. Pregnant. I might be pregnant.”

Madison looked at Maggie, expecting to see sympathy behind her expression and was instead met exasperation, “You should’ve told him what was goin’ on up front. Yeah, he would’ve probably lost it for a second, but that’s only because he cares about you more than he cares about anythin’ else and he’s scared of losin’ you. If you’d told him he’d be the one with you right now, not me.”

“Hey! Whose side are you on? I asked you to come because I needed someone I could count on to watch my back, not because I needed a lecture!” Madison was disgusted by her outburst. A woman who might a mother in nine short months shouldn’t be reduced to yelling at her best friend so easily, but she was powerless to stop, “Because it’s so easy, right? Telling someone about an unplanned pregnancy? I suppose if it was you you’d just walk up to Glenn and tell him like it was no big deal? ‘So I’ll be on watch for the rest of the night and then I have fence duty first thing in the morning so I won’t be around until the afternoon. Oh and before I forget, you knocked me up!’” Madison groaned into her hands as her words registered, “That’s exactly what you would’ve done.” She timidly looked up and tried to read Maggie’s face. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I’m taking this out on you.”

Maggie’s face softened, “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re pregnant or scared out of your mind at the very least, you’re allowed one huge, bat-shit crazy freak out. And you certainly made the most of it.”

A halfhearted chuckle slipped out of Madison then she sighed, picturing how different this moment would be if she had been brave enough to tell Daryl the whole story. She imagined him standing next to her, his steady hand caressing her back. She could almost hear his low, gravelly voice in her ear telling her everything would be all right. She sniffed and fidgeted with the pregnancy test in her hands, “Now I just have to deal with the fallout. It’s going to be bad. How do I say anything now that I know how he feels about this?”

Maggie shrugged, “It’s not like you can hide this from him, he’ll find out eventually so the next time you see him you’ve just gotta tell him; just spit it out and get it over with. It’s only gonna get worse the longer you put it off.”

“I’ve waited this long, maybe I’ll take the test first and only tell him if it’s positive,” Madison murmured to herself, grasping at straws.

“Madison-”

She looked at the brunette, “No, that’s good. He’ll never have to know about any of this if it’s negative. I won’t worry him when there’s nothing to worry about and he’ll just chalk up our conversation earlier to me being baby hungry after seeing him with Judith. This could work.”

“Do you hear yourself? You gettin’ dangerously close to freak out territory again.” Madison pressed her lips together and planted her hands on her hips and looked anywhere other than at Maggie. The absurdity of her desperate plan began to sink in and she nodded, defeated, in a silent answer to Maggie’s question. “Either way he deserves to know. Tell him.”

“He doesn’t want-”

“How do you know?”

A humorless laugh escaped Madison, “You wouldn’t be asking if you’d heard him. I don’t know what I’m going to do if…”

“He’ll come around,” Maggie said firmly, stepping forward and hugging Madison tightly.

Tears ran down Madison’s face as she held on to her adopted sister, “And if he doesn’t?”

“He will, I know it.”

“How?” Madison struggled to ask through her shuddering breaths.

Maggie put her hands on Madison’s shoulders and shook her gently, “Because this is Daryl we’re talkin’ about. He’ll stand by you no matter what.” Madison opened her mouth to argue and Maggie quickly added, stopping Madison before she had a chance to speak, “Ready to go back?”

“Yeah,” Madison mumbled, reaching into her pocket then holding out the keys to the truck, “Do you mind driving?”

“Course not,” Maggie said, taking the keys with a smirk, “A lot of things could kill us while we’re out here, but at least now your drivin’ won’t be one of them.” Madison shot the brunette a witheringly glare then rolled her eyes, a hint of a smile on her face as she followed Maggie to the car.

Neither woman spoke on the return trip, much to Madison’s relief. She stared out the window, only vaguely aware of the scenery flying past them. She didn’t even realize they had come to a stop until Maggie nudged her announcing their return home. Her mouth instantly went dry and her stomach lurched as she jumped from the truck and quickly crammed the test into the back pocket of her jeans, dreading what was coming. “It’s gonna be okay,” Maggie insisted over her shoulder as she hung the keys next to the others on the key holder, “No matter what, you’re not gonna be goin’ through this alone.”

“How very comforting,” Madison mumbled, not appreciating even the slight hint that things might not work out with Daryl. Maggie shrugged and the two women made their way towards their cellblock to drop off the supplies Maggie found. Across the courtyard Madison watched Daryl and Rick walking back from the fences, apparently deep in conversation. An odd mixture of relief and disappointment filled her as she realized her conversation with Daryl would have to wait.

“Daryl!”

Madison stopped short and glared at Maggie who was purposefully ignoring her and beckoning him over. “What did you do that for?” she hissed as Daryl glanced in their direction, slapped Rick on the back, then jogged towards them.

Maggie finally made eye contact with the furious redhead beside her, “To keep you from puttin’ this off. Tell him.”

“Made it back no worse fer wear,” Daryl said as he approached, eyes darting to the sky then back to Madison with a hesitant smile on his face, “An’ b’fore dark jus’ like ya promised.”

“Yeah, easiest run in a while,” Maggie added conversationally before leaving and whispering ‘good luck’ to Madison over Daryl’s shoulder as she disappeared inside.

Madison looked back at Daryl and couldn’t help but smile to be greeted by his beautiful blue eyes. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him to her and tenderly running her fingers through his hair. “You don’t have to sound so shocked, I keep my promises,” she whispered before kissing him, savoring this brief moment of happiness before their lives became much more complicated.

Daryl smiled against her lips and kissed her once more, “S’does this mean I ain’t sleepin’ on the top bunk t’night?”

“I hope you don’t.”

He raised an eyebrow and gave Madison a suggestive smirk, “Yeah?” Her face burned and she looked away shyly; that expression of his was what got her into this mess in the first place. Daryl chuckled as he ran his hand down her arm and studied her closely, his smile faltering. Something was off with the woman in front of him and he wracked his brain trying to decide if it was lingering disappoint from their discussion earlier or if something else was wrong. “Y’don’t look s’good,” he murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Back off ladies,” she teased, glancing around her and warding off the  invisible throng of women vying for Daryl's attention before turning back to him with a smile, “Mr. Sensitivity here's all mine.”

“Hell yeah ‘e is. C’mon, let’s get some dinner in ya. Ya’ll feel better.”

“Sounds good to me,” Madison agreed as Daryl guided her toward the outdoor kitchen set up in the prison yard. The wind picked up as they got closer, carrying with it the smell from the meal cooking. Madison stopped dead in her tracks and buried her nose in the crook of her arm. “On second thought, I’ll pass on dinner,” she said, her words muffled by her arm, “It smells like that meat’s gone bad.”

Daryl scoffed, “Ain’t gone bad, I brought that deer in myself yesterday.”

“Must just be me then. I’ve-” Madison pressed the back of her hand to her mouth, trying to hide a small gag, “I’ve got to go lay down. I’ll see you after dinner.” She rushed inside without waiting for a response, pausing to glance over her shoulder at Daryl’s concerned, bewildered face before slipping into the cellblock. She immediately flopped down on the bed when she entered her cell and focused her energy on not throwing up. A few stray tears leaked from her eyes and she let the fall, not bothering to wipe them away, as she looked at the facts staring her in the face and became more and more convinced that she actually was pregnant. With a sigh she reached for the box and pulled out the pregnancy test, staring at it blankly. With how violently the smell of dinner turned her stomach and how late she was she doubted it was even worth taking the test, she was sure she knew what it would say. She shook her head at herself and grabbed the instructions, it was better to know for certain rather than just assume. “This is so stupid,” she muttered to herself, turning the instructions over and not finding any more information, only the same instructions repeated in several different languages, “Is there a wrong way to pee on a stick?” Frustrated she boxed everything back up in a huff and set the box aside then covered her eyes with her arm, wishing everything could go back to how it used to be.

The cell dimmed slightly and Madison moved her arm to find Daryl walking inside and dropping the blanket hanging from bars behind him. “Thought y’should try an’ eat somethin’,” he said, sitting heavily on the bed next to her and producing a single sleeve of saltine crackers.

Madison shook her head in awe as she sat up, “How did you get your hands on these?”

“By sittin’ through the guilt trip of m’life, that’s how.”

“From who?”

Now that Madison’s legs were no longer blocking him, Daryl scooted back and leaned against the wall, “Ms. Davenport, y’know that whacked out ol’ bat from Woodbury?”

“The one that won’t tell anyone her first name? Yeah, I know her,” Madison answered bitterly, “She’s the one that keeps asking if I’m prepared to spend eternity in hell because redheads have no souls.”

“One an’ the same. Anyway, I saw ‘er take ‘em maybe a week back, but didn’t say nothin’ ‘cause the less I talk t’er the better.” Madison nodded in agreement, taking the crackers from his outstretched hand. “I found ‘er at dinner an’ told ‘er I saw ‘er stealin’ from the pantry an’ I wouldn’t tell nobody if she gave me some of ‘er stash fer m’girl upstairs sick.”

“Aw, blackmail. That’s so sweet.”

Daryl laughed quietly then continued, “At firs’ she played dumb then changed ‘er tune sayin’ how yer young an’ strong, ya’d be ‘lright an’ she’s old an’ frail an’ all this crap ‘bout ‘robbin’ an ol’ lady blind’. Finally she gave up an’ handed ‘em over.”

Madison slowly nibbled on a cracker, waiting for her stomach to protest before giving Daryl a small, tired smile. “Well it was worth the blackmail and the guilt trip. Thank you. Did you eat before you came up here?” she asked, holding the crackers out to him.

“Yeah, I'm good. Those’re yers.”

She nodded and pulled another cracker from the sleeve. The cracker never made it to her mouth, however. She sat and stared at it, trying to psych herself up to tell Daryl what was going on and forgetting to eat the food in her hand. The strained silence seemed to suck all the air from the cell and Daryl groaned, wearily rubbing his eyes, “Yer actin’ weird. If yer still pissed at me, jus’ say so. This silent treatment bullshit gets real ol’ real quick.”

“I'm not mad, I never was,” Madison said, forced back into focusing on the present. She took a deep breath and set the crackers aside, “But there is something I need to talk to you about.” Daryl sat up a little straighter and watched her closely, unnerved by the seriousness of her tone. Madison’s stomach lurched, from nerves this time, as five little words caught in her throat, choking her. “Daryl, I think I’m...I-I need to go to the bathroom,” she blurted, jumping up and snatching the pregnancy test from the bed as she spun around being sure to keep her hand with the test behind her back. Daryl always worried about her so easily and his furrowed brow gave away his concern at her bizarre behavior; she couldn’t make him go through the torture she’d been going through of not knowing, even if it was only for a few minutes. Maggie was right. He needed to know either way, but she’d just wait until she had the results and she could either tell him he was going to be a father or that they’d had a scare and they needed to be more careful in the future.

“The crackers ain’t helping?”

“They were, they are. It’s not that, I…” Madison’s sentence faded away as she tried to sidestep Daryl and make it out of the cell before she started crying again.

Daryl gently caught her arm, putting a momentary stop to her escape attempt, “What can I do fer ya?”

“Nothing,” she whispered, covering his hand with hers and squeezing it, “Just don’t go anywhere. We’ll talk when I get back.” She tore her eyes from his and pulled away from his grasp then slipped out the door, struggling to keep herself from sprinting to the restrooms set up outside Restrooms was a very generous description of the cluster of banged up port-a-potties collected from a nearby construction site sitting in a far corner of the prison yard. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to tide them over until they got some semblance of indoor plumbing up and running in the prison again. Madison’s pace slowed as she got nearer and could see a few people waiting in line. She chewed her lip and looked around, contemplating finding a corner around back to take the test in, but she quickly dismissed the idea and trudged forward, taking her place in line and greeting those around her with a distracted half-smile and nod. 

Thankfully the line moved along quickly and before long Madison was inside and finally starting the process of getting the answers she needed. When she was done she neatly tucked the test back inside the wrapper and anxiously waited for the results before emerging, not caring that she was holding up the people on the other side of the door. They weren’t waiting on a piece of plastic to tell them if their entire world was about to turn upside down, they could just deal with it. When she couldn’t stand it any longer she took the test from its wrapper with trembling hands. She squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths before she could muster up the courage to look. She forced her eyes open and her breath caught in her chest as she stared at the test in her hand. Positive. It was positive. For a moment all of the anxiety and fear vanished as the tiny pink plus sign stared up at her. Her face broke into a large smile, she was going to be a mother. Her smile faltered as the feeling of Lori’s body going limp in her arms ran through her mind followed by Daryl’s face. He still didn’t know. How was she going to tell him? She sank to the floor, drew her knees to her chest, and let out a new wave of tears.

The muffled murmur of voices outside her hiding place finally caught her attention and she dried her face on her shirt before struggling to her feet and opening the door, clutching the pregnancy test like her life depended on it. 

“About damn time,” a man from Woodbury grumbled, pushing past her and slamming the door closed behind him. Madison pressed the back of her empty hand to her forehead and shook her head slightly then turned and began walking to the washing basin set up next to the bathrooms.

“Jackass,” Daryl grunted from where he was leaning against the wall of the port-a-potty and glaring at the door the man disappeared behind then he turned to Madison and noticed her red, puffy eyes, “Y’alright?”

Madison gasped and released her death grip on the test without realizing it. “I was! You scared me to death! I thought I told you to wait upstairs.” She washed her hands quickly and faced him again, drying them on her jeans, “I was coming right back.”

“Yeah, that was twenty minutes ago. Thought ya’s pukin’ yer guts out down ‘ere,” he explained, pushing himself away from the wall and bending down, “Dropped somethin’.”

Her eyes darted to the ground then widened with panic when she saw what he was reaching for. “Daryl, don’t!” Madison begged, rushing to his side to try and yank the test from his hand before he could look at it; this was not how she wanted him to find out he was going to be a father. Daryl chuckled and raised his hand above his head and out of her reach with a smirk, believing if he could distract her it would help her feel better. “Please, just give it back,” she asked in a tight whisper, wringing her hands.

“What the hell is this anyway?” he mumbled as he pulled the test from the wrapper. The lopsided grin on his face disappeared as he stared down at the positive pregnancy test and every muscle in Madison’s body tensed while her worst nightmare unfolded right in front of her. Suddenly everything clicked in Daryl’s mind. This was why Madison had been acting so strangely later, why she’s been so nervous all evening, why she disappeared on a run for no reason. He tore his eyes from the piece of plastic in his hand and studied the woman standing frozen next to him. He held the test up and gestured vaguely with it, “Maddie?”

It took Madison a second to respond, Daryl’s frightened, childlike expression rendering her speechless. After their brief conversation on the catwalk she knew this was going to be a hard sell and now that it looked like she was hiding something else from him getting him on board seemed next to impossible. She finally gained control over voice and weakly whispered with a timid smile, “Congratulations, dad.”

Daryl shook his head and took a step back, “Nah. Nah, it’s wrong, yer wrong.”

“I really don’t think I am. The test is pretty simple, only an idiot could mess it up.”

“Ya-we…” Daryl couldn’t formulate a sentence and closed his eyes, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. He dropped his hand and locked eyes with Madison, “How long have ya known?”

“Actually known for sure?” she asked, tucking her hair behind her ear and wrapping her arms tightly around herself, “About five minutes. Suspected? A couple of weeks, I guess.” Her gaze fell to the ground and she nervously dug the toe of her boot into the dirt, “I didn't say anything because I hoped everything would...go back to normal. That never happened so that’s why I went on the run to get the test. I-I had to know.” She risked a quick glance at him and dropped her eyes again, “I know you’re angry right now-”

“Y’ain’t the one I’m pissed at.” Madison's head snapped up and she stared at Daryl slack jawed as he turned his attention back to the test still in his hand. The longer her looked at it the more the little plus sign seemed to mock him and without warning he threw the test to the ground like it had bitten him. Hundreds of thoughts and emotions pulled him in different directions and he didn’t know what to react to first. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t stop Lori from creeping into his mind. Pregnancy had proven to be a death sentence now that things had fallen apart, poor Madison had seen it first hand, and worst of all he’d signed her execution order simply by being with her. Protecting her was his job, a job he took seriously, and he’d failed all because he couldn’t control himself. He looked to Madison again, “Ain’t never gonna fergive m’self fer doin’ this t’ya.” Before she could respond he turned on his heel and strode off; he had no idea where he was going, he just had to move, to think. He couldn’t handle looking at the woman he’d all but murdered any longer so he ran, it was the one thing he was good at. 

“What? Y-you didn’t do anything to me!” Madison called after him, pausing long enough to scoop the test up from the ground before racing to catch up with him. The fact that Daryl had assumed all the blame blindsided her; she’d prepared herself for every possible reaction, or so she thought, and now she was scrambling to figure out how to talk him down. She followed him to the part of the yard that had been designated as their water storage. No one else was around and she guessed that’s why Daryl, consciously or not, brought them here. “Daryl, stop!” she said to his retreating back. He came to a stop then immediately started pacing, no longer trying to escape, but powerless to keep still as his anxieties demanded release. “Didn’t you hear me? You didn’t do anything to me.” 

His eyes darted to her face and away again as he scoffed and shook his head; she was trying to protect him again like she always did, but shouldn’t it be the other way around? He was the man after all. He pressed his hands to his temples and continued pacing. What was going to happen to the baby when she died and wasn’t around to protect it? Daryl knew he had his father’s temper, what if the similarities didn’t stop there? Even if he managed to keep himself from being the same kind of father his dad was he’d still be left with the monstrous responsibility of caring for the baby. He didn’t know anything about being a parent and wanted better for his kid than sleeping in a plastic box like Judith did the first few days of her life.

“I mean it,” she whispered. Madison didn’t know exactly what was going on in Daryl’s mind, but she had a pretty good idea and believed Lori to be at the center of his thoughts. She took a small step forward, but stopped herself from reaching out to him and sighed, “I don’t know when exactly this happened, but I do know we were both there. It takes two to tango and we’ve...tangoed. A lot. You never pressured me, Daryl, you never forced me. I could’ve said no, but I didn’t because I love,” red tinted her cheeks as she caught his eye and added with a hint of a flirtatious smile, “tangoing with you.” When he didn’t return her smile or acknowledge what she was telling him she caught hold of his bicep and planted herself in front of him to keep him from moving. She took his large, rough hands in hers and held on to them tightly and didn’t speak again until he finally looked at her. The distant, haunted look in his eyes made her blood run cold and she struggled to squeak out, “Please don’t do that. Don’t look at me like I’m dead already. Just because Lori died doesn’t mean I will. I’m not her, I’m me and I’m already freaked out enough without you planning my funeral in nine months.”

A moment of heavy, strained silence was finally broken when Daryl mumbled, “It ain’t gonna work.”

Madison dropped his hands and stepped back. She knew a baby wasn’t something Daryl necessarily wanted, but she’d convinced herself that Maggie was right and he’d stand by her through this. “Wh-what won’t work?” she asked, swallowing back the urge to break down into tears and hugging herself, “Us? Me having this baby? What? I know this isn't something you really want, but I’m not getting rid of him.”

The slight quiver in Madison’s voice forced Daryl’s eyes to focus, “Huh?” Stunned by the heartbreak written across her face he cupped her cheek and explained, “Maddie, I’s talkin’ ‘bout the damn crib.” She gawked at him, convinced she’d heard wrong. “Ya seen the size of them things? Ain’t no way in hell one of ‘em’s gonna fit in the cell.” He ran his thumb along her cheek then started pacing again, pulling thoughtfully on his beard as he thought out loud, talking more to himself than to the baffled woman standing nearby. “Guess ‘e’ll be lil’ ‘nough t’sleep with us at firs’, but ain’t like the bed’s that big. Maybe I can find one of them car seat things,” he paused and looked to Madison, his desperate eyes pleading for guidance, “Babies like those, right?”

It took all of her self-control not to laugh, not because she found his confusion funny, but because she was overwhelmed with happiness seeing him embrace the gigantic curveball life had thrown at them. She nodded and held her hand to her mouth to conceal her smile, “Yeah, they do. But nothing has to be done right this second, Daryl. We have nine months.”

“I don’t care if we got nine years,” he said, pointing at Madison, “That’s m’kid in there an’ I’m gonna do right by ‘im no matter what.”

“I know.”

“Ain’t gonna be like m’dad. Won’t ever...ain’t gonna...”

“I know. The thought never even crossed my mind.”

The gentle sincerity behind Madison’s expression as she spoke gave Daryl an extra surge of determination to live up to the promises he was making. He’d always wanted to step up and be the man she believed him to be. He wasn’t the same angry, lowlife he was when they met, but he was far from perfect and everyday he wondered what she saw in him and why she stuck around when better men were pouring into the prison on a regular basis. He would never understand her reasoning, but she chose him and still stood by her choice after all this time. This was his ultimate test, his greatest opportunity to prove to her she’d made the right decision. He squared his shoulders as he continued, “It ain’t gonna be like it was fer Lil’ Asskicker. We’re gonna be ready. I’m gonna make sure our baby’s got plenty of food, plenty of-of blankets an’ clothes an’ diapers...all that baby shit.” Now that he had a mental list of all the things they needed to gather to be ready for their child Daryl started pacing again, the sheer magnitude of the responsibility of his impending fatherhood settling on him and making standing in one place impossible.

“Our baby,” Madison echoed with a soft smile as she brushed away a stray tear.

“What ya cryin’ fer?”

Madison shook her head then met Daryl’s steady gaze. “When you said it wouldn’t work, I thought you meant us, that I was going to have to do this on my own,” her smile widened as she covered her stomach with her hands, “but you were already making plans. You’re in this.”

“Course,” he said offhandedly, like it was the most obvious thing in the word. His eyes narrowed as he studied her then he took her hand and led her over to a pair of overturned barrels. “Ya didn’t really think I’s gonna walk away when yer havin’ m’baby?” he whispered as he sat, pulling her next to him and wishing he could erase the years of damage left behind by Charles constantly making her feel disposable. They’d tried going their separate ways before and it didn’t work; if only Madison could understand that the only thing in the world that would make him leave her was a bullet to the brain.

She looked down and picked at a stain on her pant leg as she shrugged. “For a second,” her eyes flickered to his and the unwavering love they held took her breath away, “Yeah.”

Daryl shook his head and gave her a lopsided smile. “Don’t be stupid,” he drawled, his deep voice a touching mixture of firmness and affection as he brushed her cheek then drew her to him, encircling her in his powerful arms, “Y’know damn well we’d go crazy without each other.” A soft laugh slipped out of her as she closed her eyes and focused on the comforting rise and fall of Daryl’s chest with every breath. Daryl absentmindedly ran his fingers through her hair, treasuring the time they had together as his mind replayed the image of Rick collapsing to the ground sobbing when he learned Lori’s fate. He pressed his lips to the top of Madison’s head to keep his fears at bay; she was young and healthy, she’d survive. She had to. “Ya doin’ okay?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah,” Madison answered, sitting back and recovering from the daze she’d fallen into in his arms, “The crackers helped. But if that’s what morning sickness feels like, I’m not looking forward to the next little bit.”

Daryl smiled at her. He wasn’t looking forward to that part either; he hated seeing her suffer and feeling powerless to help. “Glad yer feelin’ better, but that ain’t what I’s askin’,” his expression turned serious, “This is big. Ya doin’ okay with it?” Madison quickly answered with a nod, a little too quickly for his liking, and his eyes narrowed, “Nuh-huh. None of that crap. We do this, ya gotta be honest with me an’ that means no more holdin’ shit in fer my sake. Somethin’ don’t feel right’r yer scared ‘bout something ya gotta tell me s’we can get y’two checked out, got it? Ya gotta let me in this time, Buster. Y’already’ve kept me in the dark fer a coupla weeks.”

“I know, I’m sorry about that,” Madison murmured, looking down at her hands, “But I really am doing okay.” She looked up at him, her eyes contrite, and said in a whisper, “I mean, it’s a lot to digest, you know? I’m scared of…” Madison’s sentence trailed off as she drew a deep breath and closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly as if doing so could force her thoughts into place. Daryl silently brushed back the hair falling in front of her face then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She met his concerned gaze and rested her hand on his leg, exhaling before adding, “...of so many things and I know that’s what I should focus on, but mostly I’m just...happy.” A peaceful smile spread across her face as she tried to explain herself, “As soon as I saw that little pink plus sign everything else faded away, for a moment anyway. I wasn’t expecting that. Are you? Happy, I mean. Even a little? I don’t know how I can even ask you that after earlier-”

“Ferget ‘bout earlier.”

“I want to, I’m trying,” she whispered in a small voice, looking up at him through her eyelashes, “You didn’t answer. Are you at all happy about this?”

Daryl inhaled deeply giving himself time to consider his response before answering. His head was still spinning. He was glad she was happy and envious that she was able to feel anything beyond trepidation and panic. So much had changed in the past year; he’d had to face so many obstacles he’d never dreamed of and yet the prospect of being responsible for raising another human being had him more terrified than his first encounter with a walker, but that was the future he was hoping for because that would mean that both Madison and their baby survived the pregnancy. His eyes darted to the anxious face of the future mother of his child as she breathlessly waited for an answer and a sudden lump formed in his throat. The brave woman next to him was not only willing to put her life in jeopardy, but was happy about doing so, to bring his son into the world, to start a family with him. A small, lopsided grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as he fell into the warm brown eyes of the woman sitting beside him. “Yeah,” he murmured when he could finally control his voice, tentatively placing his hand high on her stomach, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Tears of relief and joy stung her eyes and she looked down, smiling to herself to see Daryl’s hand on her stomach. She gently covered his hand with hers and slowly guided it to her lower abdomen. “He’s down here,” she said with a smirk as she locked eyes with Daryl, hoping their son would have his father’s beautiful blue eyes instead of her dull brown. “Really? You don’t even know where your baby is?”

“‘E’s gonna be a smartass jus’ like ‘is mama, ain't ‘e?” Daryl grumbled, deflecting Madison’s teasing as he drew her nodding, smiling face to his and kissed her softly. Madison’s stomach released a sudden loud, impatient, growl and Daryl sat back, laughing as red flooded her cheeks. “Betcha dinner’s soundin’ lot better t’ya now, huh?”

“I’m not making any promises anything will stay down, but it’s worth a try,” she answered, shyly meeting his amused gaze and scrunching her face up, “Think there’s anything left?”

Daryl shrugged and held out his hand to Madison as he stood, “Prol’y. An’ if there ain't I'll go catch ya a rabbit.”

“Such service. So there are perks to getting knocked up,” she laughed, shaking her head and waving his hand away as she pushed herself to her feet. “I can stand.” Daryl’s gaze fell to his shoes and he rubbed the back of his neck with his rejected hand with his tongue in his cheek. Madison snaked her arm around his waist and started walking, pulling him with her, “I just mean you should save the chivalry until I’m nine month along and big as a house. If you keep helping me now you’ll be sick of me by the time I really need a hand.”

“That ain’t possible,” he said, draping his arm around her shoulder.

“You’re going to regret saying that. Challenge accepted.”

“Shut up.” A comfortable, albeit heavy, silence took over as they made their way across the courtyard, each lost in their own thoughts. “Rufus, Jebediah, ‘r Cletus?”

“Huh?”

A slight smirk raised the corner if Daryl's mouth as glanced at her from the corner of his eye, “Baby names.”

“I'm sorry, what?” Madison asked once she picked her jaw up off the ground. 

“See, I like Rufus, family name, but Cletus ain't bad.”

“Yes it is!” she cried, wrinkling her nose, “Those are all awful! There's no way I'm going to name my boy Rufus or Cletus." Daryl pressed his lips together to hold back a lopsided grin and shrugged. "Come on, seriously?" Madison groaned, holding her hand to face in exasperation, "You don’t see a problem with Cletus Wyatt-Dixon? That's borderline child abuse.” Madison inhaled sharply and cringed as her tactless joke fell from her lips and she turned her head and stared up at the man walking next to her, watching him intently, her apology already forming on her tongue. 

The laugh she got in response took her by surprise as did the gleam in Daryl’s eye as he cast her another sidelong glance, “Noticed ya didn’t say no t’Jebediah.”

“No to Jebediah!” she said, rolling her eyes and exaggerating her frustration by throwing her head back. “I noticed you’re only coming up with boy’s names, hideous boy’s names I might add,” she looked at Daryl from the corner of her eye and playfully elbowed his side, “What’s that about?”

“Ferget already? Yer the one started it. Ya said ‘im back there.”

Madison’s paced slowed as she combed through their conversation and a small smile pulled at her mouth, “I did, didn’t I? I can’t explain it, it just...feels like a boy.”

“Hope yer right,” Daryl laughed, “The world sure as hell ain’t ready fer ‘nother Dixon boy runnin’ ‘round, but I wouldn’t know where t’start raisin’ a lil’ girl.” 

“You’d figure it out,” Madison whispered, thinking back to the countless times she’d watched Daryl care for Judith. He didn’t give himself enough credit, being there and loving the baby was what was important, the rest would fall into place naturally. 

The outdoor dining area, which consisted of a few tables with mismatched chairs and a fire pit, was practically abandoned by the time Daryl and Madison got there. So much had changed in the past few hours Madison hadn’t realized, or cared, how late it had gotten until she saw the nearly empty space which was usually buzzing with activity. “Don’t think I’ve ever been here when it’s this quiet,” she whispered, feeling an irrational need to keep her voice down, “It’s almost spooky.”

Daryl shook his head, but chose to keep his mouth shut. Their day to day life revolved around trying to avoid getting eaten by dead cannibals, but a quiet corner of the prison yard was spooky; sometimes he couldn’t understand how Madison’s brain worked. “Take a load off while I find ya somethin’ t’eat...if ya ain’t too scared.” Madison glared at Daryl, but took a step forward, following him over to where the food was stored. He turned around and shot her a stern look and pointed to an empty table, “I mean it. Sit.”

“Yes, sir,” she grumbled. She sank into the nearest chair, folded her arms on the table, and put her head down with a sigh, suddenly exhausted. Minutes later a bowl clattered against the table and she raised her head, pushing her hair out of her eyes and pulling her dinner closer to her. A small smile covered her face when she looked down at the bowl of vegetables, touched that Daryl remembered not to give her any meat after her reaction earlier. 

“Lemme guess,” he groaned as he dragged a chair next to her and sat down, “Ya don’t like the names I picked ‘cause ya wanna name ‘im somethin’ stuffy like Alexander’r Bradley, right?”

“Actually,” she answered with a shake of her head, quickly swallowing the food in her mouth before continuing softly so they wouldn’t be overheard, “I was kind of thinking Richard, after my dad.”

“So ‘e goes ‘round having people callin’ ‘im Dick ‘is whole life? Nuh-huh.”

Madison shot Daryl a mildly irritated glare then smiled, “No one ever called my dad that his whole life.”

“That ya know of.”

“At this rate we’ll be lucky if we can agree on a name by the time he reaches puberty.”

“Looks like we’re gonna haveta compromise ‘ere. Cletus Richard. That’s m’final offer,” he teased, eyes sparkling, and Madison burst into laughter, startling the stragglers in the dining area.

“Cletus Dick Wyatt-Dixon? Are you going to find him a therapist or should I?”

Daryl’s deep chuckle mixed with her laughter as he stole some food from her bowl and asked as seriously as he could manage, “How ‘bout Abner?”

“You’re a hard man to find, you know that?” Michonne asked with an aggravated huff as she pulled a chair over to Daryl and Madison’s table and joined them, swinging her leg over the seat and leaning on the back of the chair, “I want to finalize the plan for tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Madison repeated, casting a confused look towards Daryl who groaned into his hands.

Michonne’s attention was focused on her goal and she didn’t notice the response of either of the people sitting across from her. “We know the Governor’s not anywhere close by, we’ve checked. I think we should take one of the cars so we can get an earlier start and cover more ground. The road we found Karen on runs east to west, I say we go west first and then if we come up empty again, we go back the other way. We should leave no later than sunrise.”

“You’re going out again?” Madison asked quietly, catching Daryl’s eye, “You two haven’t even been back a week.”

The movement of Madison’s hand caught Daryl’s attention and his eyes followed it as she, consciously or not, covered her stomach. He rubbed the back of his neck then turned to Michonne, “Listen, there’s been a change of plans. I ain’t goin’ t’morrow.” Michonne’s expression hardened at the news and Daryl groaned. He took a deep breath and locked eyes with Madison as he took hold of her free hand resting on the table, “Thing is...me an’ Maddie, we...uh-”

“We hadn’t talked about you leaving again so soon,” she blurted before he could finish his thought. “I was a little shocked is all, it’s not a big deal,” she added, removing her hand from her belly and clasping his hand, “Of course you should go.” Daryl stared at her slack jawed and she squeezed his hand in response before letting go and turning her attention to the bowl in front of her as she tried to ignore the confusion on his face as he continued to stare at her.

“All right,” Michonne said slowly, eyes bouncing between Daryl and Madison. She stood up quickly; something was going on between the two people still seated at the table and she wanted no part of whatever was going to happen next. “See you at the gate in the morning,” she said, catching Daryl’s eye, “Unless something changes.”

“It won’t. He’ll be there,” Madison insisted, glancing at Michonne with smile.

Michonne looked to Daryl again and he nodded, agreeing with Madison. He watched her leave before he turned back to Madison, studying her closely through narrowed eyes, “This some sorta trick? Y’say ya wan’ me t’go, s’I go, but ya sulk the whole time I’m gone an’ I come back to a freeze out from a week long fight I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout?”

“What?” she laughed, shaking her head at him, “You’re being ridiculous. I meant it. You should go.”

“I don’t get it. Why d’ya wan’ me t’go? Yer p-”

“I know I am,” Madison hissed, anxiously looking around the dining area at the few people dotting the space around them, “Please, can we wait and talk about this later?” She stood abruptly and carried her bowl over to the trough of dirty dishes waiting to be washed in the morning, hoping she put an end to their conversation for the time being.

Daryl jumped to his feet, nearly knocking his chair over in his haste, then he crossed the dining area and grabbed Madison by the arm, turning her towards him, “No, I wanna talk now. Firs’ y’stop me from sayin’ anythin’ t’Michonne then yer shovin’ my ass out the door. What the hell, Maddie?”

Madison exhaled and looked over his shoulder at the closest table and the woman pretending not to listen to their discussion. “I don’t want people to know,” she whispered, her face burning with humiliation over the scene she and Daryl were causing, “Not yet.” Daryl’s hand fell to his side, releasing her and she sidestepped him, beginning the short trek back to the cellblock. She wasn’t sure if it was in her mind or not, but she felt every set of eyes in the dining area follow her as she left and she wiped her cheek as discreetly as she possibly could, exhaustion, embarrassment, and fear finally taking a toll on her.

Heavy footsteps were quickly closing in on her and Daryl’s voice broke the stillness of the evening, “Why can’t people know? Y’ashamed it’s mine?”

“Of course not,” she answered as she spun around to face him, choosing to ignore the sting as he went from calling to their baby him to it. “How can you think that?” she asked. Obviously she wasn’t shy about letting everyone at the prison know they were together. She was proud to call him hers, why would she feel any differently about his child? 

Daryl threw his hands up and let out a humorless chuckle, “E’verybody knows yer m’girl, but ya wanna keep this secret...ain’t that big of a leap.”

“That’s not it,” she wrapped her arms around herself and took a timid step towards the hurting man in front of her, trying to find the words to explain what was going on in her mind. When she came to a stop she looked up and met his penetrating gaze, “Think back to my initial reaction when I found out Lori was pregnant. I wasn’t exactly kind, Daryl.”

“Y’weren’t the only one. Least most of what ya said was ‘bout ‘er an’ Shane, not the kid. An’ she never found out, ya jus’ ran yer mouth t’me.” He raised the tip of his thumb to his mouth as he watched Madison closely, trying to figure out where she was going with this. “Didn’t stop ya from almost killin’ yerself fer ‘er.”

“True,” she sighed, looking at her feet and nodding slowly, “That doesn’t make it okay though.” She brushed away an unwelcome tear and shook her head to get her hair out of her eyes, “I know what’s coming and after what I said I totally deserve it, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready for it.” Daryl’s brow knitted in confusion and she elaborated, “I’m not ready for the whispers and the stares or the conversations that die out when I walk into the room...I just want to put that off for as long as possible. I promise that’s the only reason I want to keep this just between us for right now.” The bubble of happiness surrounding Madison burst hard and fast as piece by piece reality started sinking in. She pinched the bridge of her nose and gently stomped her foot in frustration as she struggled to keep her composure. “That’s why you should go,” she muttered, finally looking up again and forcing a sad smile on her face, “You won’t be missing anything here except maybe a little morning sickness. And trust me, that won’t be pretty; you’re lucky you get to miss it.” She sighed and protectively covered her stomach with her hands, “Besides, you finding that prick and making sure he’s gone for good is so important. Now more than ever.” She studied Daryl’s face, looking for some sign of that he understood where she was coming from, of whether or not he was still hurt by their misunderstanding. She glanced down at her hands, “You should go for him. If you stop going out so much all of a sudden people will start talking and...”

Madison’s sentence faded to silence as Daryl tenderly wiped her cheek then caught her in a comforting embrace, “Ain’t nobody’s business, Maddie.”

“And that’s going to keep them from talking?” she asked with a dark chuckle, her words muffled as she buried her face against Daryl’s chest, “I don’t want to hear about how stupid I am because I didn’t keep my knees together or how pathetic and desperate I am for trying to trap you with a pregnancy.” 

“Nobody’s gonna say that,” he whispered, running his fingers through her red hair in hopes of calming her down and thinking that if anyone was stupid enough to say anything bad about the mother of his child they would have to answer to him.

“Maybe not the people that matter. Our group won’t think anything of it, but these new people?” Madison didn’t finish her thought and stood up straight as she wearily massaged her temples to ward of the headache trying to take over.

“Buster,” Daryl said with a bemused smile. He wasn't about to tell the girl he'd knocked up that she was worrying about nothing so instead he took her small hands in his and caught her eye, “Ya know people’re gonna find out, right?”

“Of course I do, but not for a few more months.” 

He shook his head at her and dropped one of her hands then tugged on her arm, leading her towards their cellblock. Madison was terrified and exhausted, everything would seem bleak to her until she got some rest. He wanted to stay with her to help her through the first few days as much as possible, but he couldn’t refuse to go with Michonne when he could see how much it meant to her. He didn’t know much about pregnancy and babies, but he did know that keeping the woman happy was right at the top of the list. As they walked hand in hand he glanced down at her, “Reckon some’re gonna find out a hell of a lot sooner than a few months.”

“Who?” Madison asked, her eyes going wide at the thought.

“Maggie fer one,” he answered simply, smirking at the hint of red coloring Madison’s face. For all of her big talk about keeping the baby news just between them for a while, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that first thing tomorrow morning Madison would seek out her best friend and tell her everything that happened from the moment Maggie left them talking in the courtyard earlier that evening.

“Oh.”

A triumphant gleam lit Daryl’s eyes as he opened the cellblock door for Madison and followed her inside, “An’ course that means Glenn’ll know. Prol’y Beth.” Madison conceded to his theory with a slight shrug and a nod as she climbed up the stairs leading to their cell on the upper level of the cellblock. She watched others go about their business and shook her head; it was surreal to think that her life would never be the same again and the rest of the group were carrying on with their lives as normal. Daryl’s warm breath on her ear quickly pulled her back from her musings as he leaned in close and whispered so he wouldn’t be overheard, “An’ we gotta talk t’Hershel too. Make sure y’two’re ‘lright.”

“Okay, okay,” Madison laughed, holding her hands up in surrender and leaning against the cell wall while Daryl pulled the heavy barred door closed behind them, “You’ve made your point. A handful of people will know before it’s obvious.”

A distracted half-smile pulled at the corner of Daryl’s mouth as he fiddled with the blanket hanging in front of the bars then muttered under his breath, “An’ Rick should prol’y know.”

“Why Rick?”

Daryl shrugged and walked away from the door, avoiding meeting Madison’s confused gaze, then kicked his shoes off into the corner before sitting heavily on the bed. “Well, ‘e says ‘e ain’t in charge anymore, but that’s a bunch of bull. ‘E’s always gonna be the leader no matter what ‘e says,” his clear blue eyes finally darted to Madison and he chewed on the tip of his thumb, “Ya can’t keep doin’ the hard jobs ‘round ‘ere.”

A soft, understanding smile crept across her face as she sat down next to him and caressed his back. The man next to her would never admit it out loud, but he was just as scared and overwhelmed as she was. Rick had been through this and was the friend Daryl had never had before the world ended; eventually he would need someone to talk to and get advice from. “You’re right,” she whispered, kissing his cheek, “He should know.” 

Daryl squeezed her knee to acknowledge her answer then she maneuvered around him so she could lie down. Eager to change the subject and make sure everything was in order before he left in the morning he asked, “So ya’ll talk t’im while I’m gone?”

“Who? Rick? Why me?”

“T’Hershel, Maddie,” Daryl said, rolling his eyes at her, “Will ya talk t’Hershel while I’m gone?”

She groaned and lighted smacked the pillow behind her to fluff it up, “That’s one conversation I’m not looking forward to.” She stopped fluffing the pillow and looked back to Daryl, “Ultrasounds aren't really a thing anymore, there's not much he can do. Can’t it wait until you’re back?”

“I could jus’ stay.”

“We’ve talked about that already.”

“Then it looks like yer talkin’ t’Hershel without me,” he said with a small lopsided grin as he threw his legs up on the bed and leaned against the ladder at the foot of the bed so he could look at Madison while they talked, “Whether ya wanna’r not. Y’know it can’t wait.”

She sighed rubbed her temples, “I’m a grown woman, why do I feel like I’m seventeen and I have to tell my dad the captain of the football team got me pregnant after prom?”

“That really happen?” Daryl teased.

“No, wise guy, it didn’t,” Madison shot back, trying and failing to look irritated before she gave up entirely and smiled at him, “It’s just going to be so awkward. He’s not my father, but he’s my dad.”

“So?” Daryl scoffed, once again not understanding why Madison was getting bent out of shape over nothing, “‘E ain’t stupid. We share a cell, Maddie, have fer awhile. ‘E’s gotta know I stick it t’ya regular.”

“And it’s no wonder why, you make it sound so romantic. How could a girl say no to that?” Daryl winked at her from the foot of the bed and she giggled quietly then added, “That’s not the part I’m talking about. I know he knows that we…” 

Daryl watched Madison closely. His frankness had always embarassed her and he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have some fun so he finished her sentence for her with a playful smirk, “Bump uglies?” 

“Stop!” she begged, burying her face in her hands while Daryl laughed. “But yeah, that,” she said when the heat in her cheeks subsided. She met his gaze and whispered, “I don’t want him to think less of me because I was stupid enough to get knocked up.” 

The smirk on Daryl’s face faded away, “Are we back t’that?” Madison hung her head and shrugged and he reached for her hands, waiting for her to look up before adding, “Hershel ain’t gonna think that. ‘E’s jus’ gonna be happy ‘e gets a lil’ grandbaby.” Madison didn’t respond just nodded vaguely as she chewed her lip, clearly still nervous about the situation. “Least ya know who got ya pregnant, yer one up on Lori ‘lready an’ ‘e didn’t think any less of ‘er.”

“You’re awful,” she murmured with a small laugh as she leaned forward and gave him a small peck on the cheek. She then sank to the bed and settled in on her left side with a sigh; she couldn’t remember ever being more exhausted or more wired in her life and was convinced sleep wouldn’t come easily. Behind her Daryl groaned as he stretched out then rolled onto his left side as well, wrapping his strong arm around her and holding her close. 

The security of lying next to Daryl eased Madison’s mind and soon her eyelids were too heavy to hold open and her breathing slowed. “Been thinkin’,” Daryl said, his beard tickling her skin as he spoke against her neck, pulling her from the brink of sleep, “Somethin’ ain’t right with those names we’s talkin’ ‘bout.”

“Finally seeing sense about Cletus and Rufus, huh?” 

“Nah, still like them names.” Madison gently kicked his leg and he continued with a chuckle, “The las’ name’s the problem.”

Madison fought the urge to turn around and face Daryl. The cell was getting darker by the minute, but enough light was filtering in through the blanket that he could see her face and she knew should couldn’t fake a smile after hearing that. “Oh. Well, I...I mean he is ours so I just assumed you’d want...that was stupid of me-if you don’t want him named after y-”

“I’m thinkin’ it should jus’ be Dixon.”

“...Okay…” Madison said slowly, rolling onto her back and propping herself up on her elbows all the while trying to figure out why he thought her name should be dropped.

“An’...” Daryl paused and took a deep breath, his eyes dancing across her face. He licked his lips then lovingly moved her hair off her face and lightly traced her scar before running a feather-like touch along the side of her face and down her neck. “An’ I think it’s ‘bout time y’start callin’ yerself Dixon too. If ya want.”

Daryl’s words hung in the air while Madison ran them through her mind, letting them sink in and making sure she understood him. “Really?” she breathed. He nodded slightly in reply and a bright smile took over her face as she touched his, “I can do that.”

“Good,” he said simply, unable to contain the large smile covering his face as he pushed his wife back down to the bed with a deep kiss.


End file.
